Submitted for EP!!!!

I just walked in from the grocery store and checked my email. I saw an email from our social worker so I quickly opened it. She says that we are being submitted for EP (Emigration Permit) tomorrow!!! This is a HUGE step!! I am beyond thrilled!!! It can change at any point, but right now it seems that once you are submitted for EP, it takes approximately 3-5 weeks to be approved!

Praise the LORD.

Praise God in his sanctuary;

praise him in his mighty heavens.

Praise him for his acts of power;

praise him for his surpassing greatness.

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,

praise him with the harp and lyre,

praise him with tambourine and dancing,

praise him with the strings and flute,

praise him with the clash of cymbals,

praise him with resounding cymbals.

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.

Praise the LORD.

psalm 150

God Loves Beau more than We Do

(If you haven't read our last post, we are naming our son Beau.)

Adoption is full of highs and lows. The waiting is not easy. This is just me being totally honest.

Today was awesome because we got our April WBC (well baby check). Yeah!! More on that later! It is such a joy to get updates on Beau and see how he is learning and growing. It sort of makes it feel real, too. Like he is really our son because they are sending these updates to us, and no one else. :) So this was definitely an adoption high point today!!

Then when I got home, I got more good news. We had requested a CD of images from the hospital in Korea. The nephrologist that we have been working with at Emory told us that he might not have to redo as many tests if he was able to see the actual images of ultrasounds and kidney scans that have been completed in Korea. So I talked to our agency and they requested the CD. It was in the mailbox today! Yippee! On the CD case was a picture of the hospital. I thought this was so neat because I know that my son has been there! This was my second adoption high point of the day! God is so good!!

Then, I checked an adoption forum. I have learned a lot about the process by reading other people's stories. Today I noticed that lots of people posted that they were submitted for EP (emigration permit). I am SOOO thankful for other families that were submitted. This means that things are moving along. Truly I am happy for them! But there was also a sadness. I was praying for a miracle and hoping that we would be in the April batch of submissions. It was a long shot, but a possibility. I noticed that at least one family with a February acceptance date was submitted, so it wasn't totally out of the question. It is possible that another batch will be submitted in April, but recently there has just been about one batch per month. So...we will continue to wait and pray that we make the May batch.

I'm being honest here....I went to take a shower and a couple of tears accidentally came out. I really am excited for the other families (mostly December and January referrals/acceptance dates) but I was hoping we would be one of the families to be submitted for EP in Korea.

And then the Lord whispered something to my heart. The Lord reminded me that He has known Beau long before we ever did. As much as we love our son and want him home, God loves him even more. God's timing is just that...God's timing and not ours.

Raleigh and I have talked many, many times throughout this process about how God is using the adoption to bring us closer to Him. Thank you Lord for allowing us to be on this journey!

Now...back to the fun part!!!!

The Well Baby Check was completed April 19th.

Current Weight: 17.86 pounds

Current Height: 27.9 inches

The WBC also says that he can pull to a standing position and plays ball with the examiner! Also, he sits up alone without back support with back straight. So fun!! Even though he didn't gain any weight this month, he did get .3 inches taller and learned some new skills! This is the first WBC that has stated his ability to pull to a standing position or play ball!

Keep learning and growing Beau! We love you all the way from here to Korea!!!

We have a name!!

Throughout the adoption process, Raleigh and I talked about names, but we never made any final decisions. We wanted to wait until we saw our little treasure's picture before choosing a name.

Well, we were officially matched with our son on February 18th, so it has been about 2 months...and we finally have a name.

His Korean name is Si-won, which means righteous helper. Isn't that cool? We knew from the very beginning that we wanted to keep Si-won as part of his name.

So....drumroll please........

Our son is Beau Tanner Si-won (our last name), and we will call him Beau.

Raleigh chose the name Beau and I think it is just perfect! Beau is such a southern and classic name and we think it suits our son just perfectly!!

I chose the name Tanner as part of his middle name. (Technically he will have 2 middle names, Tanner and Si-won.) For those of you who have been following our story from the beginning, you know that God used the Chapman family's story to pull our hearts towards adoption. A little background...the Chapman's oldest daughter, Emily, went on a mission trip to Haiti when she was young. After that trip, she began asking her parents to adopt. She would even leave little notes around the house telling her parents why they should adopt. Well...fast forward a bit. The Chapman family did adopt three beautiful daughters from China. Maria Sue was the Chapman's youngest daughter. She went to live with Jesus on May 21, 2o08. I still remember hearing the news of the tragic accident. I was on my way to school to teach kindergarten. I walked in to my classroom in tears and God continued a mighty work in my heart. (You see, in April of 2008 Katherine Arnold Wolf suffered a massive rupture in her brain. This event caused me and Raleigh to have conversations about what it really means to pray without ceasing. Also we were reminded to truly intercede for others in a bold way.)

So...after sweet Maria Sue went to be with Jesus we continued to learn more about prayer and going to the throne of Heaven for those who cannot go themselves. Raleigh and I wanted to boldly pray for the Chapman family. God is the only one who could grant them peace during a time of great pain. At the end of the school year in 2008, Raleigh and I had planned a quick trip to Destin to celebrate our 3rd anniversary. We always make a stop at the bookstore to get some new beach reading. I bought The Lost Daughters of China by Karin Evans. I read the book in one day and my heart was gripped. In the 2 months leading up to the beach trip, the Lord had used Katherine and Maria Sue to teach me about praying for the needs of others in a fresh way.

When I read the book, my eyes were opened to the needs around the world. Who does Jesus send to be his hands and feet? Us!! Normal sinners. People who love the Lord are called to love people. After reading the book, I went back to the bookstore and purchased every book they had about adoption. Fast forward about a year....the Chapman's oldest daughter Emily married her best friend Tanner. They were married at the Chapman's house. The same home where Maria Sue went to be with Jesus. The Lord was giving the Chapman's a taste of His beauty for ashes. He was making all things new.

Ok, so I know this is getting long. But I wanted to honor Steven and Mary Beth Chapman because the Lord has used their family in a big way to lead us to our son. God used their story to point us toward adoption. I love the name Tanner and it seemed to be the perfect addition to our son's name. I pray the name is a small reminder to me that God makes all things new!

We are glad to have finally chosen a name that we think is perfect for our son!

Beau,

Your mom and dad are so thankful that you are in a loving foster family, but are eager to have you home. We love you so much and cannot wait to hold you for the first time. We have been working on your nursery! You are a blessing, an extravagant gift from the Lord. We are so thankful that God chose us to be your mom and dad.

Love,

Mom and Dad

A Very Special Day for a Very Special Family

(Hi Katie...I hope you don't mind I *borrowed* this picture from f*c*book)

Today is a very special day for a very special family!

Raleigh and I met Jake and Katie while we were living in Birmingham. Raleigh and Jake attended UAB together for grad school. We became great friends and had (and still have) lots of fun together.

After finishing grad school, Raleigh and Jake (and our friend Ara) all got hired by the same company in Atlanta.

So...we all moved to Atlanta. About 2 years ago, Katie and Jake welcomed their precious son Charlie into the world. It has been so fun watching him learn and grow.

Jake is in the army and was deployed approximately one year ago. Tonight is a special day because Jake is coming home! After one year of deployment, he is coming home tonight to be with his wife and son.

Dear Jake, Katie, and Charlie,

Words cannot express our thankfulness to your entire family. Thank you for the sacrifices you made for our country.

Jake~ Thank you for being so brave. I cannot imagine being away from home for an entire year. We cannot wait to spend time with you! Raleigh is looking forward to a fishing trip! And hey, before long Charlie will have a new friend to play with!

Katie~ You are so brave! You have been the picture of grace for the past year. I know that life was not easy with Jake being gone, but you did it! And now it is over! Praise God! Katie, This quote by Eleanor Roosevelt makes me think of you, "A woman is like a tea bag - you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water." You have been so strong.

Charlie~ Your dad is a hero! A real live super-hero! That is even better than the heros in comic books. You are so blessed to have such a brave dad.

Welcome home Jake!

With much love and gratitude,

Bridgette and Raleigh

**If you have time, please leave a comment, thanking Jake for his service to our country! Thank you!**

Newest Colts Fan

Growing up in Tennessee, we were always "Manning" fans. You know the ones...Archie, Eli, and especially Peyton. Since Peyton plays for the Indianapolis Colts, we are Colts fans! My mom had to go to Indianapolis for work today and my dad went with her. They stopped by the merchandise shop and picked out a jersey and football for the newest Colts fan...

My First Mom Task

Yesterday I felt like I had my first job as a mom. I went to a local pediatrician for an initial meeting. This was a pediatrician that had been recommended by a friend. I feel like the doctors that have been recommended to us are all wonderful, so it is going to be more of a personality preference as we make a decision.

So... the meeting went well and I felt very comfortable with her. While she looked over our son's latest Well Baby Check (WBC) she noticed things before I mentioned them to her. This made me feel good. For example, our son is noted to have mongolian spots (birthmarks). These birthmarks tend to look like bruises, so it is important to have a doctor document them. She mentioned this to me before I even brought it up.

Also, she knows the pediatric nephrologist that we have been consulting with. That could be helpful because I really want to have a "team approach" as we make decisions about surgery.

Speaking of surgery, obviously we won't make any decisions until our son is home and seen by a pediatrician and nephrologist, but it is interesting to think about the timing. Some people would recommend that we wait as long as possible once he is home so that it does not interfere with the bonding process. I can understand this perspective. However, I also can see wanting to have the surgery quickly. Obviously, we will rely on the doctors' feedback when we make a decision.

Registering

I love how Raleigh makes everything more fun! Here he is being silly while registering...

Not too long ago, Raleigh and I went to Babies R Us to do some registering for the baby. We had started the registry online, but then decided it would be easier to go into the store to finish.

Raleigh decided he needed to try out the crib mattresses before we chose one. Ha Ha!