Do you tip at sonic?

Okay this has been a great debate in our family and I want to know what you think.  I am not going to tell you who is who but, one of us thinks you should tip and the other does not.  You will just have to guess who the cheap one is.  

 I have even thought about calling sonic and asking if the car hops work for tips.  But before I do....I thought I would ask my peeps.....Do you tip at sonic?  You can comment as an anonymous person if you are a chicken and worry that someone might think you are a cheap skate.  ;o) LOL!!!

Peace...

Yesterday was a BAD day for me.  There is no other way to describe it.  I was a mess of tears and anger.  I kept asking God "Why after all that we have already been through would we have to endure another BUMP in the road."  None of this made sense to me.  God gave us one Miracle after another to provide for our adoption.  So why would we need to experience all this pain?  

Well, we did experience a supernatural presence of God in our lives, and after a mountain top experience a valley is sure to follow.  It is how we handle ourselves in the valley that counts.  Yesterday I did not handle myself very well.  I was angry and Mad at God.  I screamed out in pain and tears and asked "WHY".  I let myself throw a two year old's tantrum.  I threw things across the room and cried and screamed and carried on.  Then after my fit I cried and cried and cried until I had no more tears.  Then when I was at my lowest point I looked up to my Heavenly Father and asked Him to give me PEACE.  There is absolutely nothing I can do to change any of these circumstances so I begged God to help me come to terms with it and to give me PEACE.  

When I got up this morning I did feel better.  After I got the boys off to school I came back home and sat still in my quiet house.  I just sat here.  It was just me and God.  As I sat here I could feel that God WAS giving me PEACE.  I am not happy about having to wait longer but I do have a PEACE that passes all understanding.  I know God has a reason and we may never know what that reason is but I have PEACE.  God's timing is perfect and for what ever his reasons are I will Trust Him.  

 

Another setback...

I just got off the phone with Holt our adoption agency.  We did not make the last batch of babies to receive EP.  It looks like we will have to wait at least another month before Catie will be able to travel.  They were not sure if we even made the next batch.  Please pray for us we are heartbroken today.  

Just when WE got down...........

Okay.....I think God is trying to get my attention what do you think?  Just when WE got down and were wondering if our daughter will ever come home God sent us this.............

We think this picture was taken last week at Catie's monthly Well Baby Check.  Getting an updated picture is not a guarantee and is considered Lucky........Getting two is amazing.........Getting three is very rare and shows that God's hand is definitely involved.  I just posted this afternoon that we were having a hard time waiting and I am in AWE of Gods goodness.  Okay friends lets pray her home now.  We want the next picture to be of us holding our sweetheart!!!!

PS  No word on EP yet.  

No News....

Well it has been over a week now with no new information.  We are starting to get anxious.  I say WE because Steve and I are both now feeling it.  I have been a mess off and on during this entire process but Steve has been my ROCK.  He keeps a level head and keeps me in check.  When I get down he encourages me.  But at this point we are both struggling to keep the balance that we once had.  We catch each other staring at Catie Beth's picture and wondering if this is ever really going to happen.  Today it has been exactly Three months since we received Catie's Referral.  We are still expecting to hear about her EP(emigration permit) at any time.  Our agency thought that they would have a list of babies that have their permits approved by the end of this week.  But still no word as of yet....I will post when I know something.  Please keep praying for us.  

Just when I get down......

He lifts me UP!!!!  Look what we got in an e-mail from our agency today!!!!  Another picture of our sweetheart!!!  I have been really down the past couple of days and look what God sent to cheer me up!!!  Oh I just can't wait to go get my little Catie Beth.  Isn't she beautiful?!?!?!

8 Months old today...

Today Catie Beth is 8 months old.  I will tell you a little bit about her.  We don't know much....but I don't think I have told many people what I do know.  She has been described as Very Shy.  She is in very good health.  She is sitting up all by herself now with good balance and has started pulling herself up to standing.  At the rate things have been going she may be walking by the time she comes home.  I am not prepared for that.  Steve bought a gate for the stairs but we will have to do some major baby proofing in our home.  She says Omma and Oppa this is Mom and Dad in Korean.  She plays peek-a-boo and is a happy baby.  

Her Korean name is Byeol and was given to her by her birth-mother.  It means Star and it was given in the hopes that she will be a glowing star and lighten the world.  I love what it means.  She is already a bright glowing star in my life.  

Her American name will be Caitlyn Elizabeth....we will call her Catie Beth for short.  Caitlyn means Pure and Elizabeth means Gift from God.  I also love these meanings because she is a Pure Gift from God.  Although we are changing her name.....her Korean name will always be a part of who she is and she will always have the option to use it if she so chooses.  

1 year ago.....

One year ago today we stepped out on Faith and sent off our Application for Adoption.  This started the journey to our Daughter Caitlyn.  Steve had just returned from a deployment to the Middle East.  During that time we prayed separately about the possibility of adoption.  After he returned we spent two weeks praying together about adoption and the answer that kept coming to us was "yes" and so this began our journey.  

We are soooo close!!!  Yet not quite there.  I am feeling quite a bit of frustration today.  We have everything we need on the US side to bring Catie Beth home.  But apparently we are caught up in the Backlog of people that are waiting for EP(emigration permit) on the Korea side.  I was hoping by some miraculous intervention that we already had EP and just didn't know about it.  But, as each day passes that hope is fading.  I am not sure how much longer we will have to wait for EP but I do know that it usually takes a good two weeks from the time EP is approved for her passport to be ready.  So the waiting continues..........Pray for me......I am really tired of waiting. 

We have Packet 3.....

Packet 3 is the great mystery.  It is sent to the agency in Korea from the US embassy.  Nobody really seems to know what is in this packet.  It has been rumored that it contains a checklist of the the documents and things that our Cooperating agency in Korea needs to produce in order for the actual Visa to be issued.  This packet will be returned to the embassy and the baby's visa interview will be scheduled.  Soon after the Visa interview the Visa will be issued and Catie will be ready to travel.  

So this is my prayer list for today.....

~Pray that all the paperwork and documents in Korea are ready to go.  

~Pray for Catie!  

~Pray that God will prepare her heart for this very tough transition.  She has been in the same foster home since she was two days old.  She is very attached to her foster mother and will grieve for her once we bring her home.  

~Pray for our Boys, As this will be the first time both Mom and Dad will be away.

~Pray for Steve and I as we prepare to travel.

    

Answered prayers!!!!!

Just thought I would tell you all about the miracle of the moment today!!!  In a previous post I told you all that there was a Well Baby Report on the way.  I was expecting to receive it on Saturday but it did not come.  I was a little bummed but I knew it was on the way.  Today when I got my mail this is what I found.  Our WBR in a sealed bag obviously water damaged.  Somehow the post office managed to soak it.  I guess they held it until it dried out.  The papers inside were water damaged but they were photocopies of the originals so they were still legible. No major harm was done.  Now on to the miracle.......... 

Along with the rest of our mail there was another envelope from our agency.  Somehow when Holt(USA) received our WBR another important piece of mail was separated.  So they sent it the next day after it was found.  Guess what it was~~~~~YEP THAT'S RIGHT our much prayed for PICTURE!!!!!!!!!

If they had been sent together like they normally would have, the picture would have been ruined in the water damage.  It is an original and was sent directly from Korea with important identifying information on the back.  So there would have been no replacement had it been damaged.  Can you see God's Hand?  He is amazing!!!  Thank you Lord for this miracle!!!  

In the picture you can see that Caitlyn received the package that we sent her.  We sent two outfits, a blanket, two disposable cameras, a stuffed giraffe(that her daddy picked out), a toy like photo album of our family, and a few gifts for her foster mother.  I am thrilled beyond words!!!

But Mom....I didn't mean to....

Okay~~~So I am warning you now that this post contains photos with GRAPHIC material!!!!  If you have a weak stomach you might want to skip this post!!!!!

The boys were soooo happy yesterday morning....They came and showed me the first frog of the spring(that's what they called it).  The newness apparently wore off quickly because it turned into a game of let's scare the cute little neighbor girl with our new toad.  

This is the story that I finally got out of the boys last night........Cody......it's always Cody....was playing with the new toad and realized that the neighbor girl did not share his enthusiasm over the amphibian.  So in an attempt to scare the poor girl he tried to toss the toad gently to her....yeah right, like I believe that...anyway he tossed it a little too far and it went flying into the road......within seconds a very fast moving car ran over it.  This is the point that I realized something was up in the front yard....I hear screaming like you wouldn't believe.  The neighbor girl and my poor CJ were mortified!!!  As I calmed them down and let them know that everything was going to be Okay and that the froggy is now in a better place.....Cody blurts out.....But MOM.....I didn't mean too.....

I guess boys will be boys!!!  All I could do was smile and take a picture!!!  Oh my Crazy life!!  God must have known what he was doing when he blessed me with three boys....I just wish he would have filled me in on it.  I now fear that Caitlyn will not have a chance....Pray that she does not grow up a Tom-Boy!!!  

10 silly things you might not know about Steve...

Maybe I should let him share about me...No Way!!

1.  Steve likes Blue Cheese~~~~yuck!

2.  Steve is the biggest GOOF I know!  No really, don't let his serious side fool you!~~~~this is one of the things I love about him!

3.  Steve chews his fingernails~~~~drives me crazy!

4.  Steve loves to fish~~~~but he hardly ever catches anything.  

5.  Steve can cook!~~~~very well I might add! 

6.  Steve is very afraid of heights~~~~hence the reason we never have Christmas lights!

7.  Steve has spent at least 2 years and 3 months of the last 11 years (length of our marriage) away either TDY, deployed, or training~~~~he hates being away from the family :o( and is currently gone for training.  

8.  Steve has always wanted to be a missionary with MAF (mission aviation fellowship)~~~~for as long as I have known him!~~~~It is I that comes up with all the excuses why we can't.

9.  Steve occasionally colors my hair for me~~~~It has been a while.    

10.  Steve picked out the (pink/with daisy's) car seat for Caitlyn~~~~I liked it, but was good with a plain black one. 

Hee Hee.....I am soooo gonna be in trouble when he sees this! lol 

Logged out of the NVC.....and more

I called the NVC this afternoon and found out that Caitlyn's Visa Approval left the NVC this morning and is now on its way to the embassy in Seoul!!!  One more HUGE step in the right direction!!  So while I was on a roll I thought I would e-mail my agency and ask if there was any word on the Emigration Permit(EP).  I also asked If we had received a new Well Baby Check (WBC) recently.  

 

This is what we heard back~The ministry is ready to accept new applications for EP.  Our agency will be submitting a new batch very soon.  They said to keep our fingers crossed and pray, pray, pray that our baby will be in this next batch.  Also a WBC came in the mail from Korea today.  So she was going to send it out to us today!!  Sadly there was not an updated picture of our baby included.  But that's Okay!!  I will take the real thing!!! ;o)   Hurry home Ladybug!!

Logged in to the NVC!!!

I just called the National Visa Center and found out that Caitlyn's Visa approval has been logged in as of this morning!!  The NVC will most likely send out her Visa approval later today or tomorrow.  This is the "Hard Copy" that will go directly to the embassy in Seoul, Korea.  One step closer to my baby Girl!!!