Week #13 and still waiting...

Today marks week #13 of waiting since all our paperwork was completed. Typically, our agency says that it takes 8-12 weeks in order for parents to get their travel call. Since everything else happened much quicker than we expected, I guess we were hoping that the call would come quickly too. It just can't be much longer now! I've certainly been the more impatient one over the last few weeks. Every morning, Morgan tells me that it will happen very soon and before I know it, I won't have a free minute to myself.
He also reminds me that God's timing is perfect and everything will work out beautifully. Even though I know and wholeheartedly believe this, I still can't wait to have our daughters home. As I drifted off to sleep last night, Morgan told me that he thinks this is our week.
Sweet dreams for me...

Luckily, there's been a lot of activity going on here with the start of our pool. The pool and backyard should be done by the end of March. It'll be perfect timing for the girls' first birthday. On the bright side, because we've been home, we were able to make slight adjustments to the design of our pool. It's kinda cool to see the whole process from the beginning too. The other benefit is that Morgan has been able to get lots of work done this month. January is typically busy for him because of his annual client reviews. Here's hoping for great news this week! I know once we see our babies, all this waiting will be a distant memory.

Family Doc

In an effort to be prepared for when the girls come home, I've scheduled their first doctor's appointment. The appointment is on February 12th so hopefully, we'll be home from Korea by then. Actually, it worked out great because I've been trying to find us a family doctor ever since we moved. Thank God we haven't needed one all this time! We loved our doctor in Malibu. She was the best doctor we've had and really more like a friend.

Last Sunday was Sanctity of Human Life Sunday (I wrote about this in a previous post).
One of the ministries at our church is serving the Crisis Pregnancy Center in our area.
The director of the center spoke to us about the many women who have chosen to keep their babies as result of the help and encouragement they received from the center. The CPC is strictly made up of volunteers, including herself. She also explained that last year, she had been praying for a doctor to be on permanent staff with the center. She then introduced Dr. Anderson. Coincidentally, Dr. Anderson said that last year, he too, prayed about where God would lead him to help others. The rest was history!

We looked up the doctor this week and found out that his practice is very close to our home. He takes our insurance and accepts new patients! He is also a family doctor which means that he can see all of us! Hey, at least it's one less thing I've got to do when we come home from Korea.

Dancing with God

Still no word yet and we've been trying to stay busy. Morgan's Uncle Jim and Aunt Lois visited from Nebraska last weekend.

This weekend, we saw more family in Orange County. I have to admit,

I am, however, feeling like I'm 9 months pregnant and overdue, (with twins!). It's so weird to think that one phone call will change the rest of our lives but then again, many phone calls do that, don't they? Thank you all for your calls, your e-mails, your support and continued prayers. This is really the hardest part. I mean, how do you really go about life as normal when you know that any day, your life will never be the same? I recently received a prayer from a friend called "Dancing With God." I loved the beautiful vision it left me. I look forward to reading it again and again to remind myself that God is my lead. He's got me. Now, let Him lead.

Dancing with God
When I meditated on the word Guidance,

I kept seeing " dance" at the end of the word.

I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing.

When two people try to lead, nothing feels right.

The movement doesn't flow with the music,

and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky.

When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead,

both bodies begin to flow with the music.
One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back

or by pressing lightly in one direction or another.

It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully.

The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness

from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other.

My eyes drew back to the word Guidance.

When I saw "G" I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i".

"God, "u" and "i" dance."

God, you, and I dance.

As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust

that I would get guidance about my life.

Once again, I became willing to let God lead.

My prayer for you today is that God's blessings

and mercies be upon you on this day and every day.

May you abide in God as God abides in you.

Dance together with God, trusting God to lead and

to guide you through each season of your life.

I hope you dance.

Noah's Ark

"The woodpecker may need to go!"

Found this and thought it was cute...

Everything I need to know about life, I learned from Noah's Ark...

1. Don't miss the boat.
2. Remember that we are all in the same boat.
3. Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark.
4. Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.
5. Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.
6. Build your future on high ground.
7. For safety sake, travel in pairs.
8. Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
9. When you're stressed, float a while.
10. Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
11. No matter the storm, when you're with God, there's always a rainbow waiting!

Sanctity of Human Life Month

January is Sanctity of Human Life Month. It is held on the Sunday closest to the anniversary of the January 22, 1973 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to legalize abortion in the Rowe vs. Wade case. On this Sunday, many churches will talk about preserving life, what God says about human life in the bible, and provide tools and resources regarding adoption. According to Focus on the Family, 44 percent of all American women will have an abortion at some point in their lifetime. More than a million American women will have an abortion this year.

For obvious reasons, I have a passionate heart for women who choose to courageously birth their babies, regardless of their circumstances. Morgan and I have been supporting Harvest Home in Santa Monica for a couple of years now and more recently, Miriam House, here in the desert. Both are non-denominational, Christ-centered programs where women in crisis pregnancy are provided with love and care, while being offered a stable environment where their physical, emotional and spiritual needs can be met. The ultimate goal of these homes is to have each woman leave spiritually stronger, with a greater sense of self-worth and better prepared to support and care for herself and her child.

God's word is full of references that life begins in utero. For example, when Elizabeth, Mary's cousin (and the mother of John the Baptist) finds out that Mary is pregnant, she cries out, "Blessed among woman are you and blessed is the fruit of your womb!" When does life begin? I know this is the cause of many debates today but in my mind, God leaves no doubts. God does not create a life without purpose.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."
Psalm 139: 13-16

In his book "Twice Adopted," Michael Reagan (the eldest son of the late President Reagan), writes that he celebrates two Mother's Days each year. In honor of his mother Jane Wyman, he celebrates the traditional Mother's Day in May. In honor of his birth mother, he celebrates Mother's Day on January 22nd, the date of the landmark decision of Roe vs. Wade. On this day, he recognizes the fact that his birth mother chose to give him life; a life full of ups and downs but ultimately a life that he is grateful to have. I couldn't be more thankful to the young woman who bravely give birth to our twins. She was certainly making a choice for the babies, rather than herself. Isn't that what love is?

What a blast!

Morgan's older brother, Ben visited us over the weekend with his kids, Shawn and Christina. Unfortunately, Lucy was sick at home but we hope she was able to get some quiet rest. The kids were enjoying their last weekend of vacation before heading back to school from Christmas break. We had fun listening to Shawn play his electric guitar (he's 13 and awesome!). We also went out for pizza, played bocce ball, uno, and watched several episodes of Man vs. Wild. Saturday night, we all ran outside when we heard the sound of fireworks. Apparently, they were having a dog show at the polo grounds this weekend and that's where the fireworks were coming from. We still can't figure out why they would have fireworks after a dog show but nonetheless, we saw the best fireworks display right outside our front door! Thanks for a fun weekend guys! We had a blast!

Stylin' babes

To our surprise, we received two big packages from Babystyle today. Sarita, Morgan's client and friend generously sent the girls their very own chair and ottoman! We had so much fun opening the gifts! It was like Christmas all over again! We think they're the coolest little things and we know that our girls will love them too! Sarita has been very supportive and excited about our plans to adopt for some time now and we couldn't be more appreciative of her. Check out the cool pattern on the chairs below. It's perfect! Thanks so much, Sarita!
We can't wait for you to meet our girls soon.

Loungin' at the beach.

Little fishies w/dark brown trim.

A little while longer...

Well, we found out this morning that the girls are not ready to travel yet.
There are no real hang-ups other than the fact that Korea usually doesn't do a whole lot the first two weeks of the new year. Our agency told us that we should expect the call by the end of the month. Even though I'm disappointed, I do feel better now that I can prepare myself to wait a little while longer. We have some family visiting us this weekend (which will make the waiting easier) and I do have to admit, I could be shopping for more window coverings while I have the time (sigh....).

I am reminded of Isaiah 40:31...
"They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint."

Ring phone, ring!

Every time the phone rings I think that it may be "the call." So far, this has been the hardest part of the waiting. Probably because we are so close and there's nothing we can do except be patient.

Over the weekend, I wrote a thank you letter to the foster parents and had my mom translate it to Korean for me. Since my Korean is limited, it was important for us to have the foster parents understand how grateful we are that they were chosen to care for our girls. We look forward to thanking them in person.

These past couple of weeks, my days have been filled with daydreams of the girls (sigh...). Come on, phone, be the call! Ring already!

Happy New Year!

We had fun ringing in the New Year with some old and new friends.

Here's to a healthy and happy 2007!

Our good friends, Robert & Emily.