They grow up so fast!

WOW, Carter turned 7 on January 31. He is such a sweet boy, Ty's mother tells me he is just like his daddy when he was little. He has a very tender heart and an extremely silly side. He loves school and is doing well, enjoys hockey and soccer (really he enjoys anything he does). He is still crazy about Lego's and has turned his brother onto that. He is such a good big brother to Griffin and is very excited to have a baby sister. I am a lucky mommy that God gave me such a precious gift!

Speaking of his baby sister, we got new pictures of her and talk about getting big fast! She is now 8 months old, 7 months in these pictures. She is growing and developing wonderfully and is a happy girl! We have decided to name her Lilyana so I will refer to her as Lily or Lilyana from now on. She is 20 pounds, has 2 teeth, says mom and dad (in Korean) waves, claps, crawls, pulls herself up, eats all kinds of things and loves people! These pictures were such a wonderful surprise because we had no idea if we would get more pictures or not. The adoption process is definitely interested and keeps you on your toes. I have really become more dependant on God through this process than ever before and have found a peace and patience that I have never known before, He is so good!

We are ready, the room is pink and red, we have diapers in the house again and cannot wait to love on that precious baby!

Heads up to all, we are pretty sure the travel call is coming very, very soon!! I will keep you posted.

9 wonderful years!!

That is snow that is all over the picture! Remember we were married in Lake Tahoe in January~

Last week Ty and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary. Every year we watch our wedding video which may sound like a lot but considering our wedding was all of 10 min long and the whole video is only about 20 min it is not a big time problem. This year the boys watched it with us, that was fun! Wow were we young, not really because we were married at 28 year old but now at 37 we look older! We were married at the top of a mountain (indoors) in Lake Tahoe, California, it was the perfect wedding for us! Next year we hope to go back to Tahoe to celebrate 10 years~ So this past weekend we went away, just the two of us for a relaxing and romantic weekend. And that it was, Relaxing and romantic. On Saturday I got up at 8:00, facial at 9:00 and nap by 10:30, perfect morning! Ty and I are really a good match (the good Lord definitely placed us together) we enjoy many of the same things and really do like just being together. We are so blessed to have Ty's parents who are willing and enjoy watching the kids so we can do things like this. They are wonderful people and the perfect grandparents! I highly encourage any of you "old married couples" to take some time or make some time and really, REALLY enjoy being together, what a gift marriage is and so often taken for granted.

Now for an adoption update...No travel date yet but we are busy getting her room ready. We moved Griffin into Carter's room last week and that is going amazingly well. I ordered some things for Lily's (that will be her name Lilyana) room so as soon as it comes grandpa is ready to paint and the color is.... PINK!! We expect to get our "travel call" anytime from the middle of February until May so we need to be ready. Once we get the call we need to be in Korea in about a week-Crazy. For now we are waiting and preparing.

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Merry Christmas!!

Minori sitting on Santa's lap for the first time at the age of 19!

Carter has always likes Santa but Griffin not so much, this Santa he liked a lot!!

Minori's first time down the hill!

Griffin is getting so big, last year he could not go down by himself.

Griffin with his two favorite people, his cousin Lydia and Mickey Mouse!

We have been having so much fun the past couple of weeks enjoying the Christmas season and the winter. We watched with delight as our Japanese friend, Minori enjoyed many new experiences. Sledding, watching a hockey game, Rodolph, frosty and sitting on Santa's lap. She is such a breath of fresh air, she is really a beautiful young lady! She chose to stay here until after Christmas so she could spend the season with us in America, she will be going back to Japan on the 27th for a few weeks. I am sure her family is so anxious to see her!

We have already had one Christmas celebration and three to go. Looks like the snowy weather may change things up a bit but we will have a white Christmas for sure.

This year more than most I have been reminded of the true reason for the CHRISTmas season, the birth of our Lord and Savior. I have thought about what things must have been like, really been like, for Mary and Joseph and how the wise men must have felt when they realized the Messiah had come, just as the Lord promised. I read this the other day and loved it, "Celebrate the Son, give thanks unto the Lord, keep watch and look forward to the day....The King is coming!!"

Happy Birthday Jesus, what a blessed day it was!!

2009 Christmas letter

Ty usually sends out a annual letter in our Christmas card, he did write one this year, the above picture is the proof, but we did not include it in our card. So here it is, mostly in his words:

Merry Christmas 2009, from the Ellis family in Eau Claire, WI and one in Seoul, South Korea. This year we once again enjoyed a year of many new things, new places and new experiences. We know how blessed we are, we consider our friends and family among our greatest gifts.

New things for us: For Griffin life changes in small ways as he continues to grow and mature. He has FINALLY got the bathroom thing figured out, loves riding his bike, talks non stop, and is learning so many things, they are sponges at that age. He started preschool this fall and loves it, he turned 4 on October and is happy to tell anybody who asks how old he is that he is 4! He still likes trains, Mickey Mouse, Dora and his big brother but his mama is his favorite!

Carter also continues to grow up (too fast if you ask me). He is in first grade and loves school. He played t-ball, soccer and hockey this year and started cub scouts which he really enjoys. He loves to build with Lego's, do math homework with dad and play with his friends.

On November 4th we got our adoption referral for our daughter (we have not picked her name yet). She was born on June 4, 2009 and her birth name is Wooyoun and she is just beautiful!!

Check out the November 12th post of this blog for more information and photos of our precious gift. We expect to get out travel call within 3-9 months and be in Seoul one week later. We will be in Korea about 5 days before we can finally bring her home to meet he big brothers, what a joyful day that will be!! So for now, as adoption goes, we continue to wait.

Our new experiences:

This year has seen the boys busy and growing up fast, we have become a family of 5, Ty is working out of the home again, our dog, Jake died a few weeks ago and Kim continues to find new ways to stay busier than ever with events, groups and activities of all types. Life is never dull around here!

We also have become a host family for a University student who is studying here from Japan. Minori does not live with us as she lives on campus, but she comes to our home and joins our family for activities often. She has taught us a lot and is so much fun to have around. The boys love her and she fits in so well at out home. Another great idea of Kim's, like I said, never a dull moment.

We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas. We hope you are filled with joy. Take time to slow down and enjoy the season. And thanks to you all for helping us remember how blessed we are, May God bless you all!!

"Oh Come Let Us Adore Him, Christ the Lord!"

Thankfulness and NYC~

December 3rd already?? We are definitely getting ready for Christmas and very excited for the season. Over Thanksgiving I had the privilege to take a vacation of a lifetime. I went to New York City with my favorite mother-in-law, Maryann, my great friend and sister-in-law, Julie and the best aunt-in-law and travel agent, Shirley!! We were gone for 6 days and did enough things for 3 weeks including 4, yes I said 4, Broadway shows, the Macy's parade, sitting on Santa's lap at Macy's, the Statue of Liberty, walking food tour in Greenwich Villi age (highly recommended), and shopping in China town (a story in itself)! We had so much fun and the memories we made were priceless!! The 4 of us travelled so well together, looking forward to future trips with these beautiful women. Yes, we all left our families for Thanksgiving and yes, they all survived! Which brings me to what I am most thankful for, my life partner, my wonderful husband!! He is truly my soul mate, the one God created for me, how lucky am I??

I am so excited for Christmas this year, my boys are at really fun ages and 2010 will be the year our precious baby girl comes home!! Stay tuned for updates!!

This Bible verse is perfect to remember this season: Hebrews 13:2 "Keep on loving each other as brothers, do not forget to entertain strangers for by so doing, some people have entertained angels without knowing it."

And baby girl makes 5!!

Last week in the middle of us being sick, we got information about our daughter!! What a wonderful day it was, her name is Wooyou, we will change her first name at some point. She is 5 months old, birthday June 4, 2009, I finally got my Summer birthday. She is in a loving foster home and growing wonderfully, 17 pound at 5 months!! She is so adorable, as you can see from the pictures. Now the hard part begins, the wait... We started this journey in August, 2007 with the first piece of adoption information gathered. We started with our adoption agency in October 2008, were officially on the waiting list as of February 2009 and now we are waiting to travel. We are told the travel time can be anywhere between 3 and 10 months. Most families have been traveling in 4-6 months so we are hoping for that. Once we get our travel call, we have about one week to get to Korea. That will be a crazy week. The boys talk about their baby sister a lot and understand what is happening as much as they each can for their ages. We are so thankful for the family that is taking care of and loving our baby girl while she waits for her "forever home."

Life is good and God is great!! 1 Samuel 1:27-28 says, I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted me what I asked of him."

I am so excited to finally paint a room PINK!! Enjoy the pictures of baby girl Ellis!!