Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my dad, Raleigh's dad, and Raleigh!

Thanks dad for being the best dad a girl could ask for! You are self-less and have always done for others in big ways. You never made me order off of the kids menu when I was a little girl and I really liked that! Thanks for always driving me to school, picking me up from school and taking all my friends home too! You probably spent more in gas money taking me to work when I was 15 than I actually made, but it was fun to get tater tots everyday at Sonic! Also, thanks for driving to Samford countless times to pick me up and take me home to Nashville for holidays because I didn't like driving. Well....let's be honest, I still don't like driving, but now Raleigh has the "pleasure" of driving me around! You are so brave and you never complain. You've kicked lupus and cancer in the butt and I know that your best years are still to come! I see lots of years of beach vacations in our future! Beau is going to love playing with you and finding treasures in the garage. Happy Father's Day dad!

My mom and dad in the 80's!

Helping dad open a new sweater for Christmas!

Daytona Beach with my dad and my sister Angie!

September 2010 from my mom's surprise birthday party that my dad planned.

Raleigh's dad is the best father-in-law a girl could ask for. Raleigh and I are so blessed to have you in our lives! You are always supportive as we journey through the crazy adventure of life. We can't wait for you to get to Atlanta in a few days! Hopefully Beau will be here then, but if not we'll still have fun! :) Happy Father's Day!

About 18 years ago in Mexico!

Another one of Beth, Isaac, Brandon, Raleigh, and some of their friends while living in Mexico.

This one was taken a couple of years ago in Birmingham.

November 2010 at the Thrashers vs. Red Wings hockey game

Dear sweet husband...Thank you for working so hard to take care of me. My dad always took care of me and my mom (well, he still does:) and we knew it would be hard for me to find a husband that would happily treat me the way I was used to being treated by my dad. My mom knew you were "the one" when you helped me move rooms at Samford. You wearing those red tennis shoes and you made us all laugh with your witty sense of humor. Thank you for allowing me to take a year off of teaching to stay home with Beau. I never dreamed it would be possible, but we are going to make it work. I can't wait to see you with Beau. I will definitely be outnumbered with two boys in the house!! I see mud pies, boy scouts, and baseball in my future. I so love you and Beau is going to love having you as his dad. He might not know it at first, but his love will grow over time. I'm excited to journey through parenthood with you. We won't always get it right, but we have an inheritance from the Lord of growing up in Christian homes with parents that love each other very much. Where we fall short, the Lord will fill in the gaps. Happy Father's Day Raleigh!

Genesis 31:49

The Lord reminded me of this great verse tonight...

"May the Lord keep watch between me and thee, while we are absent one from another."

Genesis 31:49

What a great reminder!! The Lord is watching over sweet Beau, even though he is miles and miles away from us right now.

P.S. I memorized this verse in college and typed it out exactly as I remember, but I'm not sure which translation of the Bible it is from.

A Beautiful Shower

I am so thankful to be surrounded by so many people that support me, love me, laugh with me, cry with me, and simply walk through life with me.

Three of my dear friends (Cara, Katie, and Shea) gave me a beautiful baby shower. I am so thankful for all of the love that has carried me through the adoption journey.

The picture above is Stacey (my sister-in-law), my mom, and me.

There was lots of delicious food...muffins, cheese grits, quiche, fruit, and petit fours.

Adoptive mom group! (from left to right: Maggie, Karen, me, Amy, and Kathy)

Unfortunately I forgot to get a good picture with the three hostesses, but here they are doing the dishes at the end of the party. (left to right: Katie, Shea, and Cara)

Visa Physical is Scheduled!!

We got an email this morning from our social worker letting us know that Beau's visa physical is scheduled for Thursday, June 16th.

We are getting closer!!!

Welcome Baby Landon!!

A few weeks ago, we had a baby shower for my cousin Courtney. It was so much fun to celebrate and prepare for Landon's arrival.


Landon was due June 30th, but he was ready to make his grand entrance and came a few days early. He was born Friday, June 10th weighing in at 5 pounds 14 ounces. We are so excited to have Landon join our family!! Congratulations Courtney and Michael! We can't wait to meet sweet baby Landon!

When will Beau be home?

Inquiring minds want to know when our sweet Beau will be home. Well, we are down to the final few steps of the process, but we still don't know exactly when he will be here.

We are waiting on his Embassy Appearance, Visa Physical, Visa Interview, and then Travel Call!

We are hoping he will be home at the end of June or early July, but for now we are trying to be patient because there are still unknowns with the timeline.

It's Memorial Day in Korea!

Today is Memorial Day in Korea, so we probably won't get any adoption updates today.

Raleigh and I have lots of fun events to attend in the next few weeks (wedding showers, baby showers, birthday parties, etc) so today I'm going to try to shop for the gifts for all of these fun parties!

Maybe tomorrow will bring news that Beau's visa physical has been scheduled!

One more word about Katie's post

If you haven't had a chance, I highly encourage you to take a minute and read Katie's blog post here or you can read it below in my previous post.

So many of her words in this post struck me deeply, but I want to mention one more paragraph that has profound meaning.

Taken from www.kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com written by Katie Davis

Our family sits on the street corner down town sharing ice cream and laughter. My daughter bends low to offer a homeless man her popsicle and as he cries that no one cares about him she looks straight into his face. “We will be your family,” she asserts, and she means it. We kneel on the pavement and we pray and people stop to look but we hardly notice because we were made for this.

We bend.

When I read this paragraph, so many thoughts swirled through my mind, but the main implication that I thought about is this...if we want our children to have the character of God, we have to model those behaviors for them. Katie's daughter has seen her mom welcome countless strangers into their family and home for seasons of time. She is learning from the Godly example of her mother. Isn't it true that we learn so much by watching others, not just by hearing what they teach.

I always felt a profound responsibility to my students. As a kindergarten teacher, my students arrived in my classroom at 7:30 and left at 2:30. That is 7 hours together everyday for 181 days. I knew that my students would learn so much just by watching me. (the respect I show them, the way I talk to other teachers, the way I handle problems that arise, etc, etc) What a bold challenge we have as adults. The next generation is watching us. Whether we have children or not, almost every adult I know has children in their sphere of influence....a friend's child, a neighbor, a niece or nephew, a cousin, a student, or your own child.

As Raleigh and I are preparing our hearts for Beau, I pray that my actions will speak loudly for the glory of God. I pray that Beau will grow up watching us love each other well, so that he will know how to love well in the context of marriage one day. I pray that Beau sees us love others well too so that he will learn from example about how to love others well!

Now...hop on over to Katie's blog and check it out!

Have you read Katie's blog?

Katie lives in Uganda. She is from my hometown Brentwood, TN. She lives to serve the Lord.

Her most recent post is so moving. If you have never read Katie's blog, take time to read this post. It is so engaging from the very first line, "Around here, we live bent low." Check it out here or you can read it below. The Lord is using sweet Katie and her daughters to impact His kingdom. Many, many, many of her posts describe the sweet presence of our Heavenly Father...a Father that shows up in Uganda just like He shows up in Atlanta...in your home and in my home.

The post below is from http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/

Written by Katie Davis

Around here, we live bent low.

Tuesday morning ladies from Masese stream through my front door. We have moved our weekly meeting from the slum of Masese to my living room because I have been up all night with new foster baby and can’t imagine getting all 14 of these little people out of the house. Excited about a change of pace and my sweet friends in my home, I enlist the help of darling Tamara and 13 eager little girls to give these ladies pedicures. We wash and we rub and we paint. I rub lotion into old scarred feet and think of the journeys they have traveled. I whisper thanks for the ways they have blessed me and the things they have taught me, and here in a puddle on the hard tile floor, Joy overflows.

It is on this same cold, smooth tile that I kneel hours later, face inches away from the burn on Makerere’s calf. The stench doesn’t even bother me anymore. And while it looks horrific to outside eyes, I remember what it looked like months ago and ever so slowly, I can see the healing. I can see the healing in the blood red life that spills out as I bandage and in the smiling eyes that tell me stories as I work. Laying on my belly with a surgical blade I scrape out the dead and do my best to preserve the new pink tissue that is starting to form around the edges. He laughs and says, “I have told you now all the stories I have! It must be your turn.” And I tell him a story of a Heavenly King born as a pauper and of a Body broken for me and for him and for each one of us. And I don’t even realize but there are tears on the tile and I sit astonished that messy, inadequate, ungraceful me would get to share such a story.

We sit in the dirt, not worried about the red stains and serve 400 plates of food to sponsored children on Saturday. I look into these faces and remember them nearly 4 years ago, destitute and hopeless and starving. Afraid of my funny white skin. We feed them lunch and we feed them God’s Word and we watch them transform. We feel like family now, no one noticing these skin differences. The suns rays beat down the glory of God and covered in mud and chicken broth I know that this is contentment.

Our family sits on the street corner down town sharing ice cream and laughter. My daughter bends low to offer a homeless man her popsicle and as he cries that no one cares about him she looks straight into his face. “We will be your family,” she asserts, and she means it. We kneel on the pavement and we pray and people stop to look but we hardly notice because we were made for this.

We bend.

I bend to sweep crumbs and I bend to wipe vomit and I bend to pick up little ones and wipe away tears. I bend over a big pot of stew and I bend to fold endless laundry and I bend over math books and spelling sentences and history quiz corrections. And at the end of these days I bend next to the bed and I ask only that I could bend more, bend lower.

Because I serve a Savior who came to be a servant. He lived bent low. And bent down here is where I see His face.

He lived, only to die.

Could I?

Die to self and just break open for love.

This Savior, His one purpose to spend Himself on behalf of messy us. Will I spend myself on behalf of those in front of me?

And people say, “Don’t you get tired?” and yes, I do. But I’m face to face with Jesus in the dirt, and the more I bend the harder and better and fuller this life gets. And sure, we are tired, but oh we are happy. Because bent down low is where we find fullness of Joy.

Praying for you as you bend today for whoever is in front of you. He will meet you there.

Well Baby Check

We got a new WBC!

Beau's check-up was dated May 23rd. Beau now walks holding onto furniture! Looks like he will be walking soon!

Weight: 18.1 pounds (He gained 3 oz since last month! Hey...any weight gain is good, right?!)

Height: 28.3 inches (He was 27.9 inches in April)

Congratulations Sarah!

Raleigh and I spent the weekend in Nashville celebrating my cousin Sarah's high school graduation. We are so proud of you Sarah!! She will be attending Belmont University in the fall.

Showered with Love

Last week, the sweet kindergarten teachers at my school gave me a wonderful shower for baby Beau. All of the teachers were invited and it was held at Twisted Taco in Buckhead. It was a fabulous afternoon filled with love!

Thank you....Mandy, Kenny, Christina, Lana, Shea, Dara, Sarah, and Nicole for such a special shower!!

There were G's on the back of all of the chairs! (our last name starts with a G)

These beautiful arrangements were on all of the tables!

Nicole and Emily (Nicole and I had classrooms right next to each other at school! Emily taught first grade this year but next year she will teach kindergarten.)

This is a group shot of all the kindergarten teachers.

Shea and Sarah

A Big Day

It has been quite the day! Lots of excitement!!!

-Raleigh and I are celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary today!

-Sweet Beau turns 11 months old today!

-Today was my last day of school!

-We got an email from our social worker that our EP was approved!!!

I am off to celebrate!! So much good news for one day! Thank you Jesus for the blessing of my wonderful husband, the completion of another year of teaching, and for bringing us one step closer to our son!

Congratulations Kaitlin!

Over the weekend we celebrated my cousin Kaitlin's college graduation. She graduated from Belmont University in Nashville! We are so proud of you Kaitlin!!

In our seats waiting for the big event! (Kaitlin's boyfriend Kevin, Erica's fiance Matt, and my cousin Erica)

We got a new picture!

Today when I came home from work, I had an email with 3 new pictures of Beau! We definitely were not expecting any new pictures, so this was a huge blessing!! Beau usually goes in for his WBC (well baby check) closer to the end of the month, so I'm not sure if he had a visit to the doctor today or not. Either way, we are thrilled to have the new photos. Beau is about 10 1/2 months old in the picture. He will be 11 months old on May 26th.

We love you Beau!

So...what is next?

Our friends and family are so excited to help us welcome Beau home and often ask what is left in the process. I thought I would try my best to give an update on the remaining steps of this journey. For all of you adoptive moms that have already done this part, please correct me if I miss anything.

Steps to Bring Beau Home

• I 600 needs to be approved. I spoke to USCIS yesterday and the lady I spoke with said that we should be assigned an officer this Thursday or Friday. Once you have an officer, some people are approved that day while other families wait a week or two more for approval.
• EP (emigration permit) needs approval. Next week will mark 3 weeks of waiting for approval. The last few batches of EPs were approved in 3-5 weeks, so we could get approval next week or at least by the end of May.
• After EP approval, Beau will make an appearance at the embassy in Seoul. (EA=embassy appearance) During his EA, Beau will have his picture taken for his Visa. (From what I know, the Visa is actually a small stamp/picture that goes inside the passport.)
• Next, Beau will have a visa physical (VP).
• If the doctor that checks out Beau for his VP notices a special need, he may need a Class B Waiver. A Class B Waiver is basically a form that states that you aware of your child's special need. You sign the form and have it notarized and send it back. This can add about a week to the process. You never really know if you will need a Class B, so we will just wait and see.
• Then...Beau will have a visa interview (VI). Obviously it is not much of an "interview" since Beau can't talk, but it is still a part of the process. :)
• Finally, after VI we will wait for our travel call (TC).
• Since we have decided that Beau will be escorted home, it may be a few days or weeks after our TC before Beau actually comes home because the adoption agency will need to find an escort and arrange flights.

So...that is pretty much it....I600 approval, EP approval, EA, VP, possible Class B waiver, VI, and then TC.

How much time will all of this take? If I knew, I would be sure to tell you, but I don't know!

Family Shower

On Saturday, I was given a beautiful shower! It was a shower with all of my sweet family! The hostesses were my sister Angie and my cousin Erica. Everything was so special.

Look at those cute booties!

(from left to right) my cousin Courtney, my cousin Erica, me, my cousin Sarah, my cousin Kaitlin, my sister Angie (Courtney's baby Landon is due on June 30, so our boys will be about one year apart! So fun!)

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!