A quick update and farm pictures

It's been a busy few weeks. We've been cleaning and repairing our rental home so we can sell it, and finally it is in good enough condition to sell. As a sidenote, if you are considering being a landlord, I would say run away. The amount of destruction and toxic waste in that house was beyond belief. But it is now clean and for sale. We are quite relieved to be finished with the repairs. Now we just need someone to buy it.

My mom is taking us on vacation this week, and we are so grateful for the much needed break. We're going to Omaha zoo, South Dakota, and finally Colorado, where my brother lives. It should be a lot of fun. I'll be sure to post some pics of our adventure when we get back.

Finally here are some great pics of when we took Eliza to Deanna Rose Farmstead. She loved feeding the baby goats and other animals. She pretty much calls anything with 4 legs, "dog-dog"., but we have 2 dogs, so that is to be expected. She does recognize birds and calls them "Bir". Also, she seems to have a new favorite word, "my!" which translates to "mine!" Yep, she's already starting to act like a 2 year old, and we have 4 months before that happens. Oh boy!

One Year Ago

It was one year ago today that we officially accepted the referral Choe In Ae.


And it was one year ago yesterday that we got the call from Holt asking us to consider making this sweet baby girl our daughter. Now, really, who could resist this precious face?

I don't think I will ever forget that phone call. It was from the Waiting Child Program at Holt. She told me about a tiny little girl who was born 10 weeks premature and only weighed 800 grams (1lb 12oz) at birth. She told me about some of the medical concerns they had for her due to her extreme prematurity. Then she asked if we'd like to look at her file. To which I replied a resounding "Yes!"

We read through the medical file and had it reviewed by a pediatrician before we looked at her pictures. Then after we knew we were comfortable with her potential medical issues, we opened the picture above, and that was that. We fell in love. This child was without a doubt our daughter.

I can't believe it was a year ago. It was the week before Mother's Day last year that I first laid my eyes on my daughter, and this year for mother's day, she became my legal daughter forever and ever. I think my hubby is going to have a difficult time on Mother's Day next year trying to top the past 2 years.

Ours Forever!

Yesterday we went to the county courthouse, stood before the judge and were declared Eliza's legal parents. She has been our daughter in our hearts for almost a year now, when we first saw her picture, but now she is officially ours in the eyes of the law . What a joyous day it was as we celebrated our forever family. She is also an American Citizen now, hence all the red, white and blue.