NEW NEWS!

Happy Fall and almost Thanksgiving to all of our family and friends! What a whirlwind of a season it has been for us! Our little big guy is now two! It's a little humorous, because most of the time when your kid has a birthday, there is a sense of unbelief that your child is growing so fast. With Abe...it's a little different. He has been looking, acting, and tantruming like he was two since he was one. So, although we had a great time celebrating Abe's official two year birthday...it was just funny to everyone I talked to that he was ONLY turning two. We love that kid so much...but he HAS earned the title of "mommies little sour patch kid". He can be SO sweet, and incredibly sour all in the same 5 second span. He keeps us on our toes...and also somewhat in shape (wrestling that kid into his pants covers my cardio and strength training for the week;).

construction cake:)

Got his first undies!

Not quite Abe.

We barely settled home after Emri's surgery before we decided (since she was doing SO well and because we're crazy) to take a last minute trip with Brett's parents to Denver to see Brett's brothers and their families. The trip was.....interesting. I flew out with the kids and Brett's parents, and Brett came a day later. The trip there went well....I sent Abe back to Grandpa on the plane and Grandpa made the wise decision to pay 6 dollars for Abe to be able to watch some Disney Junior. We didn't hear a peep from him for the rest of the trip. Emri was great and didn't need O2 which I was very thankful for. We got to Denver on Friday and had a good time hanging out with family that night. On Saturday, the girls took the kids to the zoo and soaked in the 70 degree Denver warmth (It was 17 degrees the day we left Denver...). It was such a fun time---the kids got to spend some fun time together and the animals were all out to show off. It was Abe's first time at the zoo and he was INTRIGUED. He zoomed around that zoo with the most astonished look on his little face. Brett came in that night and we had some more fun with family. Sunday morning Abe woke up with no voice. By Monday Abe was miserable with croup and an owie ear. Brett had already left Monday morning, so grandpa went with me to take Abe in to urgent care. They decided he needed antibiotics for an ear infection and steroids for his croup. He spit out anything they tried to give him orally and ended up with four pokies. I have never had a kid on steroids...so I didn't know what to expect...and I didn't receive adequate warning. By Monday night Abe was in a RAGE I can't even describe in words. I called a nurse to make sure it was normal...which it was. When I told her I had to fly with him the next day, she just LAUGHED. She laughed. We DID have a great time hanging out with family, but Abe's hulk-like rage definitely put a damper on things. Tuesday went OK until we got to the airport where Abe decided he couldn't handle "it" anymore. I took him to a corner and just put him on the ground where he continued to thrash all over the place, giving himself a bloody nose, bruises and scratches all over the place. I had the kindest old retired nurse walk over to me and say, "it looks like you need a buddy." I did...and I took her up on her offer for company. We had a great long talk while Abe finished his rant. He came up to me when he decided that he was done and held up him arms. I picked him up and he was asleep within 10 seconds. The plane ride back was less eventful than the wait in the airport. Abe only had enough energy to throw two small fits. I was one happy mom when we finally landed in Seattle again.

ZOO!

Smirky

The whole Family!

Emri and Giselle:)

Grandma Schemper!

I'm officially allowed to make fun of Brett for being OLD...he turned 30 on November 19!!! He said he feels older...and he currently has a torn ACL and back issues...so he also looks a little older too! Poor guy...we will have to fix him soon. As most of you now know, this November 19 was extra special for us. Besides celebrating Brett's 30th birthday, we were also celebrating the birthday of a very special little boy across the ocean! Although it is not official on paper, this little guy is part of our family in our hearts. Adoption has been on my heart since I was young...and my heart has been nothing short of exploding with the desire to adopt for quite some time now. Although our lives have been slightly chaotic in the past few years, Brett and I have always known that we wanted more children....we just weren't exactly sure how they would join us. How did we choose South Korea?? It's a long story...but God led us straight there...and that's really all I feel like explaining at this point. There are numerous little boys waiting to be adopted in South Korea. The people of South Korea really value clean blood lines...so they won't adopt boys....which is why there are so many waiting boys. The adoption process in South Korea takes time, and we were told to plan on waiting over a year to get our call to court. Of course, we hope it won't take that long, but we trust wholeheartedly on God's perfect timing.

We have picked out a name for our little man. His name will be Jaemin (pronounced Jay-min). "Ae" in Korean means love...and "min" is in Korea's official name...Dae Han Min Guk (Great Country of the Korean People). We wanted to find a good Korean/American combination and we feel like it is the perfect name for our little boy. I can't share many details on our little guys past or present situation since we have not officially passed our homestudy or signed referral papers...but Jaemin is officially not on the waiting child list anymore...and according to the adoption agency we are working with, he is on hold for us!! We are so excited for this next adventure on our rollercoaster of a journey....and cannot WAIT to meet Jaemin and bring him home to become an official member of our family!

We have a life stuffed full of things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving season and we strive to make sure that we remember to thank God for all the ways he has been working in, and continues to work in our lives. We give God the Glory for His never ending sovereignty...through it all. As always, thank you for reading! Until next time!