Comforts

After we got our referral, we sent a little care package to Taiwan for Caysen. We got these pictures a few days ago that show a couple of the things we sent. We also sent some clothes and other things, but they said he just wanted to snuggle and sleep so they didn't make him suffer through a photo shoot ;)

Look at that smile!! I think he likes his new things!!!

This is my new favorite, that face just makes my heart melt :)

He's growing so much!

Hopefully these things will give him comfort while he waits for us, and then he can bring them home so he'll have something familiar to take with him. We are just so thankful he has such amazing care in Taiwan; the ladies at His Hands have wonderful hearts and we have no doubt that he is getting lots and lots of love!

Baby Blog

In case you haven't already noticed; this is going to turn into a baby blog (with a few other post topics sprinkled in between). I know not everyone else is as enamored with Caysen as we are...but the purpose of this blog is for our memories so it will be full of posts about our sweet boy until we get to bring him home, and then it will still be full of posts about our sweet boy :)

It's Getting Pretty Crazy Around Here

Lance took me on an impromptu Hot Date last night. He's kind of awesome. We went to dinner and then did a little browsing at Target; I guess we've already got the parent's version of a Hot Date down. I always thought it was funny when friends (who already have kids) considered going to the grocery store a "romantic" night out; I guess we're just practicing up :)

In all fairness, we don't have a Target where we live, and we drove to a nearby town where there is a Target so how could we not stop? Target IS pretty much the best place on Earth ;)

Happy Seven Months!!

Today, Caysen is seven months old! We received these new pictures last night :)

Yesterday, I was starting to feel pretty sorry for myself wishing something would happen to keep me going. There have been a few little steps forward over the past week or so, but no major progress so I was feeling like it might be forever before we get to bring Caysen home.

I guess God knew I had almost reached my limit because last night we got these pictures and the update we needed to know that this process is moving right along. Our homestudy has been translated and should be on it's way to us by early next week. Once we get it, we will have it certified by the secretary of state and certified by TECO and then we will ship it back to Taiwan so they can apply for a court date! Hopefully we will be getting a letter from immigrations soon inviting us to get our federal finger printing done too. Once all that is done, we pretty much just wait with nothing left to do besides pack our suitcase and pray for a smooth process :)

Nano

This is one of the first (or maybe the first) pictures taken of Caysen on the day His Hands picked him up from the hospital. The sweet lady in the picture is Mona aka Nano. Lance and I will always be thankful that Nano was introduced into our lives because she helped Caysen, and us to find eachother. When Holly & Trena brought "Buttons" to the house of hope, Nano-Trena's mom-began sending out newsletters and prayer requests on our baby's behalf. These newsletters caused us to feel something in our hearts that told us that this little boy was the one God had chosen for us! She will always hold a special place in our hearts, and Button's too :)

It's the Little Things Right Now

To get through the adoption process, I've learned to savor every piece of news, every picture, and every new accomplishment.

I remember when we first started the application process; I thought if we could just get our application submitted, it would feel so good because we would be one step closer to bringing our baby home.

Then we submitted our application and I thought if we could just have our first home visit, it would feel so good because we would be one step closer to bringing our baby home.

Then our homestudy was completed; I thought if we could just get a referral, it would feel so good because we would be one step closer to bringing our baby home.

Well, now we have our referral and we are so in love with our sweet boy and I am still living for the little accomplishments we make each day that bring us one step closer to bringing our baby home.

I will admit, I pretty much eat, sleep, and breathe all things Caysen. I can just stare at his pictures over and over again. I don't think he ever leaves my mind and I'm sure the people around me wish I could think about something else for a change ;)

Today we found out that our Homestudy has been state certified and mailed off to USCIS with our I600A (which means nothing to you if you haven't ever adopted, but it's a big deal to us) and it still feels so good because we are one step closer to bringing our baby home.

It's a roller-coaster ride to say the least. I never imagined my heart could feel so full, yet ache so much all at the same time. I thank God every day for picking such a perfect little boy for us and I just continue to pray for patience knowing that God has the most wonderful plan for our lives :)

Baby Moon

Before we knew we would be getting a referral so soon, we decided to book a vacation. We debated canceling the trip when we got our referral; but for a number of reasons, we decided to go ahead with it. We won't be able to go get Caysen for at least a few months anyways, so this will help keep us busy in the mean time. This year will be our five year anniversary, and we also wanted to take one last trip while it's just the two of us. Our sweet friend's parents have a house in Puerto Rico, so we will get to take a trip there in just a few short weeks. We wouldn't be able to afford a big expensive vacation right now, but this works out perfect because all we had to pay for were the plane tickets and we'll need to buy some groceries when we get there. We are so ready for some warm weather (it's snowing here at this very moment) with the winter we've had! We've been to Puerto Rico once before, but just for a short time before we headed off on a cruise. This time, we will get to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery and warm temps.

Lance and I have always agreed that our relationship is important, and we can't be very good parents if we don't make sure our marriage is a happy one. The dynamics of our relationship have already changed, and they will change even more when we bring Caysen home; but we hope to still be able to make time for eachother so our marriage can continue to be one full of joy. We are so excited for the new chapter we are beginning, we just don't want to forget about where it started :)

God, then family, then everything else; that's how it works best...

Is it possible to miss someone you've never met? I think it is...

"Cousins"

Our very good friends, David and Kalina are adopting a little girl from the same Ministry in Taiwan that we are. Leia should be coming home very soon, but in the mean time, Caysen is taking good care of her. We thought it would be fun to get pictures of Leia and Caysen together before they meet their Mom's and Dad's since they are practically going to be cousins :)

I think they like eachother ;)

So now I'm going to brag a little bit about Kalina. She has been an amazing friend to me for several years and I appreciate her so much. The adoption process isn't easy, but she has been there to help every step of the way (this is their 2nd adoption so they have become seasoned professionals). She has given up her personal time to help me research online, fill out confusing forms, and just to better understand the process. Some days, I feel like I must call her 20 times a day (at random hours) to talk adoption and I'm sure it must get old, but she's always so patient to listen and do what she can to help. Not only has she helped us in so many ways, but she has got an amazing heart for orphans and I know that she'll continue to do amazing things in the future. Love you Kalina, you really are a wonderful friend :)

Buttons has a nice ring to it...

Since we first met our little guy, we have known him only as Buttons. It's a pretty cute nickname, but I'm sure he won't think it's so cute if we're still calling him that when he's 16!!! So, for all those who have asked, we have decided to name him:

Caysen Ming Jia Kirk

Ming Jia is his given name in Taiwan and we decided we wanted to keep that since it is a part of him and we have actually had the name Caysen picked out for a while; we were just waiting for our baby to come along.

Earthquake in Taiwan

Please say a prayer for everyone in Taiwan. There was a 6.4 earthquake in the mountains near Kaohsiung which is where His Hands is located. From everything we've heard, it sounds like there weren't many injuries or deaths, but we haven't heard from anyone at His Hands so we don't know for sure...

I'll update when I know more.

UPDATE: Everyone at His Hands (staff, babies, and moms) is ok. Thanks for your prayers :)

Fun Stuff

This is the crib that we ordered about a month ago; it's still laying in pieces in the future nursery. I guess we better get to work :)

We got this glider in another color/pattern. I'm still nervous about whether or not I'll like it because it's hard to tell anything from those tiny swatches!

I did try to choose something versatile so that we can use it in our living room later on when we don't have a need for a nursery.

After lots of online research, I decided to go with this diaper bag. I found some other ones online that I liked, but I really wanted to be able to see it in person so I found this bag locally. There were several to compare from in the store, but this was my favorite. It's much cuter IRL.

I haven't posted an update on our adoption to do list for a while, so here it is:

Completed:

Applied with agency

Applied with His Hands Taiwan

Requested extra copies and birth and marriage certificates

Mailed copies of birth/marriage certificates to agency

Colorado Fingerprinting/Background check- We passed ;)

Child Proofed House

Made any changes to house necessary to be acceptable to social worker

Completed all 3 meetings with social worker

Completed Physicals/Medical tests

Completed 8 hour "With Eyes Wide Open" training

Completed 12 hour "CORE" training

Completed additional 5 hour training

Reviewed Completed Homestudy Report

Mailed Homestudy Signature Page to Agency

Received a Referral!!!

Created a Power of Attorney

Compiled Documents to be notarized and certified by Secretary of State

Mailed I600 A

More Stuff to do:

Federal Fingerprinting

First Aid/CPR/Infant Care class

Get Homestudy and other documents notarized and certified by Secretary of State

Complete I-171

Get Homestudy translated

Have Homestudy and other documents certified by TECO

Two Court Dates in Taiwan

GO GET OUR BABY!

So, our completed list keeps getting longer...but so does our "to do" list. Oh well, it will all be worth it when we bring him home.