A Beautiful Baby Shower to Celebrate Zoe

This past Saturday, two of my very amazing friends threw me an incredible baby shower to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Miss Zoe! It was beautiful and it was great to be surrounded by so many people who love us and have prayed for our journey to bringing Zoe home. It was an exciting time and we received so many amazing things. The encouragement we've received from these sweet families has kept us going during this process. Without their prayers and support, we know we couldn't have made it to this point. God has blessed us with so many great people in our lives. We thank Him for the gift of friendship and community.

Here are a few pictures from the exciting day:

Buffy, my amazing shower hostess and friend! Thanks so much girl! You've been an incredible support and friend to me on this journey (and in life in general)!

Dona, my other shower co-hostess. A true friend indeed. God has blessed our family with this friendship. Thanks for all your prayers and support on this journey!

A beautifully decorated table in honor of a very special Korean girl!

A beautiful hand-made hooded towel from my sweet friend Elissa!

Opening lots of gifts for Zoe

Lots of bows made by the talented Becky Loller

Yes, I proceeded to open the rest of my gifts with a bow in my hair!

So happy to have received the musical ball popper.

It was Robert's and Andrew's favorite toy as babies.

All the lovely, "Allybug Bowtique" bows from Becky!

The sweet Willard Girls

Thanks everyone!

a cute tea-set from the Rangel family

chopsticks with a note to "start practicing"

Becky "the bow lady" Lollar

Sweet Mama Jan

My mother-in-law and her friend Ginnie made it down for the shower

Sweet friend, Kristin

Jessica and Elissa, 2 adorable and amazing friends

Talented friend, Jodi made Zoe and amazing pop-out album...

I need to take a photo of it!

Sweet mama friend, Cheryl

All of our goodies spread out when we got home Saturday night.

Thanks to all of our sweet friends who have prayed for us during this journey. We also received some cash and Target gift cards that helped us get the pink car seat (pictured) and the jogging stroller we wanted (stroller is being delivered on Thursday).

We're all set for the arrival of Miss Zoe... hope it's soon!

Love, Paula

P.S. not pictured at the shower was the Rangel girls (except Becca who was my cute helper-girl handing me the presents). They snuck out before I got a picture with them.

Holt Korea Needs

We are planning to take a full suitcase of donations to Holt Korea when we travel to get Zoe. They've taken such great care of our girl and the hundreds more they have in care and they take great care of the birth moms too! Here is a list of the items that Holt Korea said they need. If you're out and about and see any of this stuff or find a great sale, grab it and we'll take it to give to Holt Korea. What an easy way to make a difference on behalf of the orphans! Love y'all!

SPECIAL and/or URGENT NEEDS

** Cleft lip and palate bottles are needed (as many as possible).

TOP PRIORITIES

*** 1. Gerber rice cereal - *** There are a lot of premature babies in care. These babies cannot tolerate the multigrain cereal that is available here, and single grain rice cereal is not available. "YES, STILL WE NEED LOTS of GERBER RICE CEREAL."

2. Diaper rash cream as like Desitin and aloe gel.
"During the Summer season, we need those."

3. Moisturizing Baby Lotion or Cream for dry skin is still a high priority. "We need this more during the Winter time... for a while, we will be ok without it." Examples include:

* Aveeno baby lotion - Many of the babies get very dry skin (dermatitis), especially in the winter and this lotion is extremely expensive in Korea.
* Cetaphil moisturizing lotion
* Johnson & Johnson baby lotion
* Vaseline will be also good.

4. Sometimes they have older children over 3 or 4. Coloring books, crayons, toys, etc are very helpful.

5. Baby & toddler Clothing - 0-36, 48 months clothing are always welcomed. "We would love to receive these for Donation."

BIRTH MOTHER NEEDS

1. Stretch mark lotion/cocoa butter- used for relieving the itchy skin of expecting mothers due to their skin stretching to accomodate the baby. This is the top priority for the birth mothers.
"Recently one adoptive family brought this but they were only able to give it to one maternity shelter in Seoul though they have 5 maternity shelters. Young teenager moms need these."

2. Maternity clothes- Assume XS, S, or M size. (maternity clothes are expensive in Korea). New maternity clothing only please (i.e. no hand-me-downs).

3. Aloe vera

OTHER ITEMS

* Multi-vitamin with iron - polyvisol (for babies)
* Cleft-lip/palate bottles and spoons
* Baby toys (rattles and teething toys)
* Preemie baby clothes (unavailable in Korea)
* Hand sanitizer - This is needed in the Reception Center as they go through a lot of it with the visitors. During the cold/flu season, it is also used by the foster families, etc.

Mary Leigh and Rachel visit Zoe!

So I fell asleep on the couch last night watching tv with the hubs. I knew Mary Leigh (my college friend and fellow Korean adoptive mom) and Rachel (a Korean adoptee and fellow adoptive mom) were going to visit Zoe on Friday in Korea (our Thursday evening) and I knew I'd wake up to pics of my girlie. Mary Leigh sent Michael a Facebook message to wake me up and that she wanted to tell me all about Zoe and how awesome she is! I think they said they have like 100 pics of her, but for now, these are the ones I have. They are precious to me.

Seeing Zoe in the arms of my REAL LIFE friend makes this so much more real to me. She told me Zoe is a ham and LOVES to have her picture taken. She sees the flash and she turns and looks and smiles. She better get used to that. Mary Leigh took a few new outfits, pajamas, teething toys and baby snack puffs to her along with a card that the boys and I made and a picture of her brothers tucked inside it. Mary Leigh said she told her "your mama is CRAZY" and told her about her closet full of clothes; she said she seemed excited... that girl loves her some clothes!

I sat up and chatted with Mary Leigh in the middle of the night... sobbing. My heart is so full of gratitude for these moms who loved on my girl today...so wishing that my child was here so I could be giving her that lovin'! It's the strangest thing to know that 2 of your kids are safely tucked away in their beds and the other is on the other side of the planet. But we rest in the fact that God is protecting and sustaining Zoe and He'll bring her to us in His perfect timing. I just can't help but wish that time was sooner rather than later.

Anyway, here are a few of the pics they've sent so far! Enjoy!

Mary Leigh, my sweet friend loving on Zoe, my sweet girl! It warms my heart!

Such a happy girl and LOVES the camera!

Sweet eyes full of wonder.

I love this one. Mary Leigh is showing her a picture of Robert and Andrew. She said "brothers" in Korean and Zoe grinned from ear to ear. It made ML tear up. Precious!

Zoe in her crib with her new outfit from us! She's lookin' good in those new threads! (and that's the card the boys and I made for her.)

Checkin' out the new outfit. This is proof that not all of her clothes are pink. :)

Sweet angel face!

Chowin' down on some Gerber puffs. Mary Leigh said she LOVED them and she sure does have some chompers in there! HA!

Oh, y'all, I can't tell you how much I love this. Smiling and holding a picture of her brothers... see the next pic to see why this is so cool to me! (that we took in August)

So back in August when the sunflowers were in bloom at Shelby Farms, we took this picture with the boys!

HOW COOL IS THAT? I love that they are all dressed similarly and how much the pics resemble one another.

Prayer for Peace

I woke up at 5AM this morning wondering what was going on with Zoe's EP. Why haven't we heard anything? You see, this roller-coaster we are on is like a game...a game of Hurry up and wait, Hurry up and wait. Well, I've been frustrated that I'm the only one who seems to hurry up and I'm doing a lot of waiting too. I know no government worker here in the US or in Korea is in a hurry for my baby to get home. I (and Michael and the boys) have a specific interest in Zoe coming home. I know our friends and family do too, but it doesn't effect anyone else other than us. But then I thought... God gets it. He knows. He knows how frustrating this is and I was reminded of how frustrated He must be when we go our own way and we don't just come home. I was reminded that while we were once so interested in our own sin that we chose not to see Him, but He patiently waited. He knows the pain of the wait for His children to come to Him. He has a specific interest in each one of His children. He knows the pain. The waiting. The frustration.

I also needed the reminder that God is in control. He didn't look away. He did not fall asleep at the wheel. Do I REALLY trust that He knows what is best? Do I REALLY trust Him with my life? Do I REALLY trust Him with the life of my children? Do I REALLY trust Him to work ALL THINGS for my good? Do I need to obsess over something He's already handling? Especially this. Adoption. It's at the center of God's heart. He adopted us. He has this. And I - I pray for peace for the rest of this journey. Knowing God is in control. Not me (as much as I might try...I'm just spinning my wheels).

God, give me and our other adoption friends peace for this journey. I trust you and I know at whatever time you choose to deliver Zoe safely into my arms is all part of your perfect plan. You know what's best. Help me show love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control while I'm waiting. Not of my own strength, but Yours.

~paula

Teach Me Something Tuesday: Seoul Tower

Okay, I haven't done a TMST in a while, so I thought I'd do one today and teach you all about The Seoul Tower.The North Seoul Tower is one of our must-see sights in Korea. N Seoul Tower is a communication and observation tower located in Namsan Mountain, central Seoul, South Korea. Built in 1969, and opened to the public in 1980, the tower has been a symbol of Seoul and measures 777 ft in height (from the base). It has also been known as the Namsan Tower or Seoul Tower. After the tower's original owner merged with the CJ Corporation, it was renamed the N Seoul Tower (official name CJ Seoul Tower).

Many visitors ride the Namsan cable car up the mountain, and then walk to the tower. The tower features a gift shop and restaurants on the ground floor. Visitors may go up the tower for a fee. There are four observation decks (the 4th observation deck, which is the revolving restaurant, rotates at a rate of one revolution every 48 minutes), as well as gift shops and two restaurants. Most of the city of Seoul can be seen from the top. Close to N Seoul Tower is a second lattice transmission tower.

Seoul tower is a very popular place for couples to get engaged in Seoul. I mean, seriously, who wouldn't want to get engaged with that magnificant view? The couples then attach a lock to the railing and then toss the key off the mountain signifying that they will be together forever and that the lock can never be undone. However, since there is a danger that someone under the terrace may be unexpectedly hit by a key, they have now placed boxes for couples to dispose of their keys in a safer manner.

Since this tradition has become increasingly popular, many adoptive families make their treck up to the Seoul Tower to put a lock on the railing or the fence signifying that their family is forever. We plan to make our trip up there and put our lock on too. Depending on when we go to Korea and what the weather is like at the time will determine if we go by ourselves or if we'll take Zoe with us.

I can't wait to see my girl and to be in Seoul with her! I can't wait to put our lock on the fence to signify that our family is forever! (and I promise not to throw my key off the top causing some passerby injury... I'll put it in the box.) ~Paula

Wishes for the week...

This week we are wishing our friends heading to Korea happy and safe travels to get their babies and for us, well, it's simple... we want a WBC (Well Baby Check) for October and some news on our EP. Come on EP, this mama is about to lose her mind.

A sweet mama and her son are in Korea right now and went to visit Miss Zoe at the Reception Center yesterday (Monday in Korea). Here are some of the pics from that visit... enjoy!

No News.

Still haven't heard anything on our EP. I have nothing but tears. Please pray that we hear of our EP submission and approval soon. Without it, Zoe can't come home and I'm (we're) getting weary! This makes no sense to me. None. At. All. WHY the hold-up? These are babies who are already matched with families and coming home anyway, why continue to keep them there? It's not what is best for the child. It is not what is best for the family and it can't be what is best for Korea since they have to continue to care for them and we all know that isn't cheap.

I am weary. Really weary. I'm worn out. There is a fear that Korea will run out of EPs and we have to wait until January... I just want my girl home. Like now.

We're asking our friends and family to pray.

~paula