A year ago...

***I just found this- I never finished putting the photos in place- this was 6 MONTHS AGO! Oh how I can't wait to get a new blog site!***

A year ago today we got our little KatieJoy placed in our arms for forever...in some respects it seems that our daughter has been with us for much longer but still- a year has just zoomed by!

in Korea with daddy

First week home

I've been thinking a lot about this past year with our daughter. We've had a lot of ups and downs and set backs and small or large victories. I read back through the small amount of blogging I've done in the past year and man did all those feelings and memories come pouring back into my heart and mind.

1st few months home

Looking back at our posts in Korea was hard- KatieJoy literally didn't like us and was so scared of what was happening to her little life. She hated me- really she did. I can look back at pictures now that I found precious right when she came home, but the sadness in her eyes make me want to cry now. Her eyes did not have the sparkle they do now...She has come SO far in the past year! She is still very timid and shy around others that she doesn't know well but at home our little girl is hilarious! She takes it upon herself to really make us laugh. She loves hugs and tickles; she is girly and loves to wear her tutu's but she is also totally into balls, cars and trains like her big brother. She still thinks her big brother is something pretty special- he can say one word and she will find it so funny that she laughs for hours at him! They fight like any brother and sister, but there is also a very special bond between them- there's this unspoken specialness (I know- not a word, right?) but it's true. You can tell they would fight to the death for one another if they had to- they are so protective of one another it floors me sometimes, but most of all it reminds me that God had planned for it to be that way all along. That God had planned for our little family to work out the way it has.

Home six+ months

It took quite some time for KatieJoy to really start talking but in the past few months her language has just exploded. Her first real sentence was "Iwanit" or I want it! Recently we've noticed that Calen will ask her "KatieJoy can you say ____"? and she'll say exactly what he's asking her to say. Does she do this for us? Not nearly with the accuracy she does it for Calen- it's so cute- she wants to be like him so much!

She is officially a mama's girl (she still loves her daddy and LOVES LOVES LOVES it when he chases her around the house or tickles her) but she asks for me all the time and is attached to my side when I am home. Just 2 days ago I was reading through my posts from meeting her in Korea and was reading about how she didn't like me at all in our first meeting- right after reading that she woke up from her nap and called for me "Mommy? MOOOOOMMMY!!!" :) I'm a sap and I know it, but it really made me tear up because hey! I worked hard for that this past year!


I recently read a statistic about unwed mothers in Korea that floored me and made me even more grateful to be able to be the parent of my beautiful children- for every 100 unwed pregnant women in Korea, 96 will have an abortion, 3 will choose adoption for their children and 1 will choose to parent their child...If I could ever EVER look my children's birthmom's in the face and say thank you, I would- in a heartbeat...

We've celebrated our spring break this week by being down at Disneyland and as we head back today we plan to stop in LA's Koreatown for some yummy Korean food to celebrate our special day as a family of 4- KatieJoy's Gotcha Day!

My sweet little love,

I am so grateful to God that I was chosen to be your mommy. You amaze me with your strength and beauty every single day. There is not a day that goes by that I do not remember what it was like to not have you or Calen home with me- my heart and arms ached to hold you and kiss you which is why I do those things multiple times a day now! You have come so far in the past year and as hard as some of this year was, I wouldn't trade it for the world because your daddy and I got to watch you grow and change and figure out who you were. We love you so much and we can't wait to celebrate many many more Gotcha Days with you! Don't ever change my stubborn Korean girl!

Love,

Mommy (Daddy & Brother too)