Beau's First Thanksgiving Home!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving day! We started the day at home. I love watching the parade each year and Beau got to see a little too. After getting ready we hopped in the car and headed to Tennessee. My mom is one of six siblings (who are all married with children) and we all get together each year for the holidays. Thanksgiving was at my uncle Steve's house this year. It was a perfect location because he has a bit of property with a lake and the weather was so great so we were able to get outside and enjoy the scenery. Here are few snapshots from our day!

Beau started the morning by watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!

Then he did a little "work" with dad!

Getting squeaky clean!

my beautiful niece Cayci and my handsome dad

Beau loves to be outside!

Beau is doing some walking with his Aunt Angie!

my nephew Alex, Beau, and Cayci

Beau loved walking with Cayci!

group shot of the grandkids

After our yummy meal, we walked down to the pond to do a little fishing.

Beau liked watching from the bridge.

Sweet Madelyn loves to play with Beau!

my beautiful cousin Sarah

Alex found a great spot to fish!

dad and my sister Angie

My mom really got the hang of it!

Sweet Isabella was patiently waiting for the fish to bite.

Beau loves to be held by dad!

Cousin Kaitlin was having fun! The weather was so nice!

I love stealing kisses from my sweet son!!

Beau and his cousin Landon were having fun getting to know each other. They are almost exactly one year apart in age. It will be fun for them to grow up together!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so blessed and thankful this Thanksgiving morning! Here is very small sampling of the things I am thankful for this year...

-Wonderful parents that model each day how a Godly marriage should look...in times of sickness and in health. They really celebrate each day! I love you mom and dad!!

-Excellent health care in Nashville for my dad as he fights lupus and cancer!

-Dr. Shih, my dad's oncologist.

-My siblings Angie and Johnny who love sweet Beau so much! And Raleigh's siblings Beth, Brandon, and Isaac who also think Beau is pretty cool!! :) We are thankful for all of you!

-Raleigh! Thank you for loving me so well!!

-Beau!! I have dreamt of having Beau home for Thanksgiving, and that day is finally here!!! Praise God!!! He is the perfect fit for our family! I pray that God will take hold of his heart at an early age and direct his strong little personality to be used for God's glory!

Let's Clean

Yesterday after lunch, I decided to quickly wipe down the front of our kitchen cabinets with a clorox wipe. I placed a wet paper towel on the floor next to Beau, just to see what he would do.

Sure enough, as I started wiping the cabinets, so did he! He especially likes to wipe the knobs!

Look mom, I'm helping!

Cleaning is fun!

Carefully navigating the corner!

(Yes, his legs are that short compared to his torso! He is 16 months old and can still wear 6-12 month pants. Ha Ha!)

I need a break! What's in here?

Don't worry mom! I will clean all of the knobs for you!

A Great Reminder about Finding Blessings in the Everyday

I love what Edie wrote today at Life in Grace! Hop on over to her blog and check it out!

Here is a little preview of what she had to say about the blessings of the mundane tasks of being a wife and mom!

"...You know the list. Laundry, cooking, dishes, schooling, a wee bit of knitting, a whole lot of reading and even the noble task of rearing young girls in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It’s quite noble work but it’s so easy to despise it. To wish it away while daydreaming about grandiose plans and schemes.

Today, I choose to relish it.

I hold the laundry tight and inhale extra long and think about the love that is modeled when a woman washes the same clothes over and over, day in, day out—-almost touching something sacred—-this washing and consecrating of materials things for a noble and good purpose. The renewal that comes from being clean. My heart aches for that washing too. Perhaps it’s a blessed thing, this daily rhythm of life. We love the grand scale, the best days, the shiny things. The bright newness of God’s blessed restoration.

But what about all those ordinary days? Where is God then?

He always chooses the ordinary things to do his greatest work..."

the passage above was written by Edie at Life in Grace

Catching Up

Sorry I have been away from the blog! We had family in town, which was a huge blessing. Beau has been needing some extra TLC during his recovery from surgery, so there just hasn't been much computer time. When Beau is awake I'm with him and when he is asleep I am showering, catching up on housework, sleeping, etc. :) So, if you have called or emailed in the last 2 weeks and I haven't responded, please forgive me.

Ok...where were we...

About 2 weeks ago, Beau had his surgery. The first week or so after surgery Beau was definitely not himself, but we made it and we are so glad to have it behind us! I must say that it is crazy how different medicines can affect your body! I am thrilled to live in a time with excellent medicine, but sometimes the side effects are not great. For example, Beau was on ditropan for about 6 days. This medicine was to prevent bladder spasms. The stint that is in his ureter touches his bladder and can cause irritation and then bladder spasms. Apparently these are very painful, so the medicine was to prevent it. Unfortunately, the medicine made Beau super jumpy and agitated. He would scratch at his face and sort of twitch after taking the medicine. It was so sad! Thankfully we were able to stop giving him ditropan once the catheter was removed. The doctor and nurse both explained that Beau could still have bladder spasms for the next few weeks while the stint is in place, so we will just watch for signs of that. We can give him the ditropan as needed if he seems to have painful bladder spasms. I would never want him to be in pain.

He was also on tylenol with codeine. This had the opposite effect on Beau. As soon as he had the tylenol he was out! He had lots of snuggle time with dad when he was taking this.

Six days after the surgery we went to the doctor's office to have the catheter removed. The doctor said everything was healing well! Yippee!!

Beau is now back to his normal, playful self! There is still some sticky residue left from all of the bandages but I'm afraid to scrub too hard near his incision. Ha! Ha! Each night during bath I just give it a good wash with the soapy washcloth and hope that it will all be gone soon.

Beau's 2nd surgery is scheduled for December 14th. His finalization day is December 12th, so that will be a busy week!

I will leave you with a few pictures to recap the last 2 weeks:

Beau loved playing with the toys at the children's hospital when we first arrived!

We got our discharge orders the afternoon following surgery. Our 2 doctors (Dr. Edwin Smith and his resident...I know his resident has a name, but I just can't remember it) were so kind to us.

Beau on pain meds = Beau asleep

Sorry mom, but I'm just too tired to eat dinner!

Beau loves helping dad work at the computer!

Time to rest!

Beau waving to the camera when we went to get the catheter removed! Yay! That was a great day! If you have the option, don't ever be responsible for a catheter at home! I know there are worse things, but it was pretty gross! I really can't complain though because Raleigh and his mom did all of the hard work! I just snuggled on Beau when each diaper change was finished!

After our visit to the doctor, we went to Cracker Barrel to celebrate! Yippee!

This picture is from today! Beau loves helping organize the silverware in the dishwasher!

Beau is giving the camera a squishy face!

Love this song right now!

Steven Curtis Chapman - Do Everything

You’re picking up toys on the living room floor
for the 15th time today
Matching up socks and sweeping up lost
Cheerios that got away
You put a baby on your hip and color on your lips
and head out the door
And while I may not know you I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes does it matter at all
Well let me remind you it all matters just as long as you

Do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you to do
Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace
With every move that you make
And every little thing you do

OOoh ooooh oooooh

Maybe you’re that guy with the suit and tie
Maybe your shirt says your name
You may be hooking up mergers, cooking up burgers
But at the end of the day

Little stuff big stuff in between stuff
God sees it all the same
And while I may not know you I bet I know you
Wonder sometimes does it matter at all
We’ll let me remind you it all matters just as long as you do

Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you
To do every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace with every move that you make
And every little thing that you do

Well maybe you’re sitting in math class
Maybe on a mission in the Congo
Maybe you’re working at the office
Singing along with the radio
Maybe you’re dining at a five star
Or feeding orphans in Myanmar
Anywhere and everywhere you are
Whatever you do it all matters
So do what you do and don’t ever forget
to do

Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you to do
Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace as you do
Everything you do to the glory of the One who made you
Cause He made you to do
Every little thing that you do to bring a smile to His face
And tell the story of grace with every move that you make
And every little thing that you do

Ooh oooooh
Every little thing you do

Today is Orphan Sunday

In celebration of Orphan Sunday, I thought I would re-post our journey to adoption. Every family's adoption story is different. This is our story.

Raleigh and I met while attending Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. We were married in the chapel of my home church in Franklin, TN on May 26, 2006. It was a beautiful ceremony performed by Raleigh's dad.

We knew we wanted to eventually have children, but we never discussed adoption as the means to expand our family. This changed in the Spring of 2008.

In April of 2008, Katherine Arnold Wolf suffered a devastating stroke. She was 26 at the time- a young mother and wife. Raleigh and I both attended Samford with Katherine and her husband Jay. We did not know them very well, but did know of them. Katherine was Miss Samford one year and has a personality that lights up a room. Her love for the Lord truly shines through her. Once I learned of her stroke, I began to feel God lead me to pray for her full recovery more than I've ever prayed for anyone. I felt the call to intercede on her behalf without ceasing. Her experience began growing my prayer life exponentially.

Raleigh and I had many conversations about what it means to pray without ceasing. Raleigh and I both desire to live our lives in constant dialogue with God as one way to 'pray without ceasing. We also agreed that there are times when God calls us to be prayer warriors for others and spend time on our knees in uninterrupted prayer for others. This is what God was calling me to do for Katherine. I felt God teaching me how to love others well during this time, but I did not know that this journey of my heart would continue.

In May 2008, the Chapman family's youngest daughter, Maria, died during a tragic accident. The journey of my heart continued as I wept for this family and again felt the call to intercede on their behalf. I do not know the Chapman family personally, but they attended my church in Franklin. Steven Curtis often led worship on Christmas Eve and their sweet family was present at church on Sunday mornings. Also, I felt somehow connected to them because their oldest daughter Emily began leading her parents to adoption after she took a mission trip to Haiti. I also went to Haiti multiple times with my church and each trip was a transformative experience for me.

It was undeniable that God was transforming the way I love and care for others. God continued to stretch my prayer life in ways I had never experienced before as I prayed for this family. During this time, I was reminded that the Chapman family had adopted three daughters. I did not feel called to adopt at this point, but I did desire to learn more about the process.

Raleigh and I went to the beach in June, and I purchased the book The Lost Daughters of China by Karin Evans. As I read this book, I learned about the Chinese population policy that began in the 1980s, which restricted families to one child. This policy was established because China’s leaders believed that the country was overpopulated. The result was that thousands of babies, almost all of them girls, were abandoned by their parents and had to be placed in orphanages. My heart wept as I thought about the thousands (maybe millions) of children in Chinese orphanages. I know that God desires to place children in families. While still at the beach, I had Raleigh drive me to the bookstore I purchased every book they had about adoption.

Through the stories of Katherine Arnold Wolf and the Chapman family, God transformed my heart and I felt the call to adopt. Raleigh and I knew we wanted children one day and when we discussed adoption we thought of countless reasons why we should adopt. We kept asking each other Why Not? instead of Why? We had/have the desire to raise a child, the love to give a child, and the resources to support a child, so WHY NOT adopt a child?

In our logical minds, it didn't all make sense (timeline finances, etc) but our hearts were at peace and we knew God had placed this on our hearts for a reason.

Over the next month God continued to open our eyes and hearts to the needs of orphans all over the world. There are millions of orphans around the globe that need a family. We began researching international adoption and attended an International Adoption informational meeting at Bethany Christian Services. In big and small ways, God continued to confirm our call to adopt.

Raleigh and I agreed that we needed to be in a home before we began the adoption process. We were living in a precious little guest house in 2008, but it was tiny and did not have space for a baby. We closed on a house July 3oth, 2008. We continued to pray for God to give us wisdom and discernment during this process. It was not what we planned. Adoption takes much longer than the typical 9 months of pregnancy. Adoption did not fit my "life schedule" of when I anticipated I would be a mother. We definitely did not have thousands of dollars in our bank account to start the adoption process. Yet despite all this, I felt a peace about this decision so much that I feel that we might be living in disobedience of God's will if we do not at least continue to prayerfully explore adoption.

We applied to the Korea program with Bethany Christian Services in October 2008. We were put on a waiting list because our agency had already met their "quota" for the year and they were not allowing any new families to begin. In February 2009, we met the annual quota and were allowed to begin our home study. Our official home study to Korea date was July 30, 2009.

On February 4, 2011 we saw a picture of our perfect son, named Si-won, on a waiting child email from our agency. I called Raleigh immediately and he agreed that we should request his file. He was considered a waiting child/special needs adoption because of his UPJ obstruction which caused severe hydronephrosis of the left kidney.

Beau at 5 months old- the first picture we saw of our son

On February 18 2011, a committee at our adoption agency's corporate office officially matched us with our precious son!!!

Celebrating the referral of our son at dinner with our family! We are parents!

Beau Tanner Si-won came home July 28, 2011! It was a day of overwhelming joy! I loved Beau from the moment I saw his sweet picture on my email, but I love Beau even more today. He is the perfect addition to our family and I will work tirelessly from now until eternity to make sure he knows he is loved forever! I am so honored that God chose to bless our family with the gift of a son through adoption.

photo taken by simple color

Recovery

Beau's recovery is going well. His diaper changes currently take 3 people because as soon as you take his diaper off he starts trying to pull the catheter out. Yikes! So I hold his little hands, Raleigh's mom holds his little legs and Raleigh changes the diaper. I must admit, it will be nice to have the catheter out next week.

Having the catheter in also means that he can't take a bath. We've been doing our best to give him sponge baths, but quite frankly he needs a good soak in the tub. He has so much sticky residue left from all of his stickers at the hospital and it is hard to get it off during quick sponge baths.

Beau did play for a few minutes today which was so great to see! You can tell that his side is uncomfortable because he has difficulty pulling up to a standing position and doesn't like to crawl or move around very much. We know this will get better each day.

It is quite interesting to see how pain medicine can affect a little body.

After we give Beau his medicine, he looks like this...

Yep, he fell right to sleep at the dinner table. We love you sweet Beau!!! We hope you feel 100% better really soon!

Beau is resting and doing well!

We arrived this morning at approximately 6:00 am and started the check-in process. By 7:3o am they were taking him to the operating room for surgery. The surgery lasted about 3 hours and the doctor said it went great.

He was in recovery for about 45 minutes before we saw him. That's when it got a little bit crazy. They moved us to our room and we were just putting our bags down when a nurse carried him in. Beau was pretty much hysterical. The nurse told me to sit down and then she handed him to me. I had no idea what to do with the iv and catheter and I wasn't sure if I could touch the incision site to hold him. Raleigh quickly stepped in and held Beau. (Raleigh was a child life therapist before going into the "corporate" world, so he is way better at hospital stuff than me.)

Beau stayed pretty wound up for several hours. His heart rate was in the 230's and his fever was 104. His oxygen level wasn't as high as they wanted so they made him wear oxygen. He did not like having that in his nose all day! I can't blame him! After the nurses had done all they could, the anesthesiologist came in. He was really nice and stayed with us and talked to us. He gave Beau some good anti-anxiety medicine and some stronger pain medicine and Beau eventually calmed down. It took a while for his fever to normalize, but it did finally come down. In the end, the surgeon and anesthesiologist think that Beau's heart rate and fever were mostly due to anxiety. Sweet Beau just worked himself into a frenzy and his little body was just over worked.

He has had 3 bottles of water, 1 bottle of milk and a few cheerios now. He wasn't really interested in eating tonight, so hopefully by tomorrow he will be ready for a little more food.

It is about 10:30pm and he is now snoring in the hospital bed! I'm not sure how long it will last, but for now Raleigh and I are just hanging out in the room. We should be able to head home tomorrow.

I will keep you posted. Here are a few pictures from today!

Good morning!

Beau was content to just hang out in the waiting room this morning!

When we went to our pre-op room, he felt safe in daddy's arms!

Here we are saying goodbye before the nurse took him into the operating room. If you can't tell in the last two pictures, he had been given a little medicine to help him relax.

Here is Beau after surgery and after several does of pain meds. Sweet boy!

We are ready!

Our bags are packed and we are ready!

We are off to our local children's hospital Wednesday morning for Beau's surgery! He is having his ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction repaired. The doctor will repair the obstruction and put a stint in Beau's ureter. About 6 weeks later he will have a 2nd surgery to remove the stint. The goals of repairing the UPJ obstruction are 1) prevent further damage to Beau's left kidney and 2) his left kidney may regain some of its function.

Hopefully Beau will have a peaceful spirit during our time at the hospital.

Raleigh's mom (Mimi) flew in from Colorado today and is staying with us for about a week. She brought us the most special book for the hospital. A member of her church made it for Beau. It is called My Quiet Book and is filled with activities!

This page has apples for counting! The apples snap onto the tree so it is also great for fine motor skills! The next page has a shoe to practice lacing and tying!

Ring! Ring! Who's calling? Beau will love to play with the telephone! Beau will also love manipulating the hands of the clock! The clock will be great for number recognition and when he is a little older we will practice telling time!

The little pocket is filled with a notebook and crayons! Fun!!

This page has a cute velcro puzzle and a glove to practice placing your fingers in the correct spot!

There are several other pages that are equally adorable! I know Beau is going to love playing with his new book in the hospital!

We are off to bed! Our check in time at the hospital is 6am, so it will be an early morning!!

National Adoption Month 2011

November is National Adoption Month! To kick off the month, enjoy this sweet video put together by another adoptive mom!

You might even see sweet Beau!