Big Moments!

Daddy and his little princess~

Signing the final papers!

Mama and her baby girl!

Lily in Marshfield.

We have had a couple of wonderful and BIG moments over the past two weeks. Last Wednesday we had our final court date for Lily and Judge Proctor signed the final paperwork so now we can get her a new birth certificate and her name can legally be changed to Lilyana Wooyoun Ellis! We can also apply for permanent citizenship for her once we get her new birth certificate. Judge Proctor was so nice, wanting to take as many pictures as we could, he even requested we send him one and showed us other adoption photos that he has. To quote him, "This is the best part of my job!" Even thought this was just a formality it is nice to have it completed.

This week Ty and Lily went to Marshfield do that she could have an Echocardiogram (ultrasound of her heart). She was born with a hole in her heart so this was a follow up appointment to check the status. Praise God her heart is perfect, "beautiful" as the technician said! The very best news we could get, out beautiful daughter has a perfect, beautiful heart!!

We are so blessed and give ALL of the Glory to God!!

Summer FUN!!

RCU Charity Classic Race!

The boys love to play in their pools! 4 hours straight on this day!

Lily also loves the water, it wasn't long before she was

heading over to the boys' pools.

Lily is getting close to walking, we are ready for her to walk

on her own.

Lily loves sun dresses, OK mom loves her in sundresses!!

Ice Cream Man!!

Who wants ice cream??

Waiting......

We Love Summer!!

See you next Wednesday Ice Cream Man!!

First birthday Korean traditions

There are many Korean traditions that we are trying to carry out for Lily. There are a few that surround the first birthday. Children wear a traditional Korean dress called a Hanbok. They are beautifully hand made garments and we were blessed to get two for Lily's first birthday. One from her foster mother, which was so special and a second from our Korean friends. There is also an event that occurs at the first birthday party called a Toljabee. For this you place several items in front of the child, usually a bow and arrow, a needle and thread, book and pencil, rice cake, ruler, and a knife. When these things are placed in front of the child the child will reach for them. Which ever one they reach for determines their future. Each one has it's own meaning. We chose to skip this at her birthday party and do it as it's own event. Lily reached for the pen first which means she will be a successful scholar.

We could not get a smile out of Lily for her pictures which was a bit strange because she smile a lot now. Turns out she was not feeling well, she got sick a couple hours later with a tummy ache and fever. So we are happy she was just cooperative! She looks so beautiful in those garments!!

End of school and first birthday.

Once again I am amazed at how fast the year went by. Carter completed first grade and Griffin preschool and Lily turned one. Now I have a second grader, a 4-Ker and a one year old. Get this; when Lily is in Kindergarten Carter will be in 6 grade and Griffin in 3 grade, that means three kids in private school, and that will be about the time the orthodontist appointments start, YIKES!! I may have to get a job, I sure hope I don't I love being home. I suppose it will be different when all of the kids are in school. I am very excited to have Carter home for the summer, he is a big help and he and Griffin play pretty good together and Lily loves her big brother. Carter is such a sweet boy with such a tender heart, he is also very active and loud. He has such a silly side which is fun but as I said LOUD! Griffin has matured a lot over the past year and is really starting to be more independent and he has really surprised us with his patience with his baby sister. He is a talker, he talks none stop and some of the things that come out of his mouth are unbelievable, that child remembers EVERYTHING!

We have a few camping trips planned for the summer and the boys are involved in many activities so we will be busy but with Lily we are trying to stay closer to home which is nice.

Lily had a wonderful first birthday, we had such a good day. Lots of family and friends to celebrate with her. Many of my family members met her for the first time last weekend. She is such a sweet baby and totally out of her shell now that she has been home for three months. She is even starting to throw little fits when she does not get what she wants.

So for us, life is full of adventure, love and joy! God has blessed us beyond what we could ever imagine and we give him all the glory!!

More pictures.

Mother of three!

This was my first mother's day as a mother of three. Having three children is a lot more work than having two. I understand what my friend with more than two children have been telling me about, we are outnumbered now! Lily continues to bless our home and our lives every day. She is a very sweet baby who loves to give kisses, all you have to do is say kissy or make a kissing sound and her wide open, slobbery mouth is up to yours! So Sweet!! The boys are so good with her, she is lucky to have them as big brothers. We recently celebrated our exchange student, Minori's 20th birthday, she is such a beautiful and amazing young lady. She will be going home to Japan for the summer but returning to UWEC in the fall. We will miss her this summer as she has really become part of the family but we are so happy she has decided to stay here. She is so wonderful with the boys, they treat her like a big sister!

We are anxiously awaiting summer, as Carter told me this morning, only 14 more school days. It will be busy around here this summer as it always is but I am looking forward to having Carter home, he is such a big help and a fun child!

Ty and I are figuring out how to manage things better around here now that it has been 2 months since we brought our daughter home, seems like she had always been here!