Happy Birthday!!!

Not flesh of my flesh, Nor bone of my bone, But still miraculously my own, Never forget for a single minute, You didn't grow under my heart, But in it...

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you Happy Birthday dear....

Happy Birthday to you!

It's hard to believe that our sweet baby boy turned one today.

Gavin Min-Seo Parker was born on September 24, 2010 at 6:29 p.m. weighing 7.7 pounds.

When we received our referral we tried to backtrack through the year to figure out what we were doing when he was born. 6:29 p.m. in Korea is 4:29 a.m. here, so...we were sleeping at a Hyatt Place in Oklahoma City. However, when we were trying to pinpoint what we were doing at 6:29 p.m. last year on September 24th (USA time), we realized we were driving in a rain storm outside of Lincoln, NE heading for my aunt and uncle's house in Iowa.

*We did go to a Nebraska game that weekend.*

Every month there is a birthday celebration for all of the babies/children who are waiting to unite with their forever families. For babies who are turning one, they have a traditional Korean 1st Birthday Celebration, Tol, where the babies are wearing their hanboks, and the Toljabee ceremony. Many families have received pictures from their baby's first birthday after they travel, so hopefully we'll get to see pics from this very special occasion.

We wish we could have been with Gavin to celebrate his first birthday but we think it is special that he was able to celebrate with all of the other babies who are waiting to come home, as well as the foster families who love these precious children as if they were their own. In fact, a baby boy who will be coming home to Texas, turns 1 on September 28th. I'd love it if there is a picture of them together in Korea since we know they will be life long friends.

Today, we had lunch at our favorite Korean restaurant in honor of Gavin's first birthday and as you can see from the first picture, we bought him a t-shirt so he will be ready for the 2012 football season. Gavin also received a special serenade from his cousins and aunt. If I only knew how to convert voice mail to an mp3! The message was greatly appreciated and will be saved until Gavin can hear it himself!

Our wish for you Gavin is that you continue to grow and flourish under the loving care of your foster family. We think about you every single day. We cannot wait until our special forever family day!

Today we also think about your birth mother. We hope that she has found peace.

As always, we are so thankful to his foster mother and father who provide Gavin with love, care, happiness and treat him as their own son. We cannot wait until we meet so we can thank you in person!

Thanks ARG for making the cute name banners and taking pics!

Goodies

We had a very short, but sweet visit from my parents on Wednesday. They were returning from the refreshing summer weather of northern Wisconsin.

A nice surprise was my mother painted a picture of the Byodo-in Temple, located on the beautiful island of Oahu. When we traveled to Hawaii this was one of our favorite stops. If you were/are a fan of the TV series Lost, this is where they filmed Sun's parents home in Season 1.

We also are the benefactors of some goodies from my sister. It's mighty nice that Baby Parker has some older cousins. Now, we have some toys, books, etc... In the "clothing department" it is especially helpful that one of Baby P's cousins happens to be a boy. We thank you Galbraiths for all of the goodies that were sent down to Texas!

No news from the agency. We should hear something soon whether it's a Well Baby Check or some new pics, especially since his first birthday is only a week away. Of course we would love to get his legal documents, too! We can say that we are waiting as patiently as we can. :-)

Have a great weekend!

추석 Chuseok – Harvest festival-Korean Thanksgiving)

Happy Chuseok!

Chuseok is a 3 day holiday which is being celebrated from September 11-13 this year. It is one of Korea's biggest national holidays. Please check out Talk to Me in Korean's blog article about Chuseok/Korean Thanksgiving!

Care Package #2

Care package #2 is officially on it's way to Korea. It should be there by next Wednesday.

This happens to be Baby Parker's Birthday Care Package. Yep that's right Baby P turns one on the 24th! It's kind of surreal, that's the only way I can describe it. I have to admit it was a tad bittersweet looking at the birthday cards. If you've ever picked out a birthday card for a one year old, many of them talk about the milestones and things that you have been a witness to during the first year...no I did not have a meltdown in Hallmark, but my eyesight might have gotten a tad blurry. Thank goodness for his monthly well baby checks and the the picture updates. We even requested a video...so cross your fingers! Oh and I'm really hoping that his foster mother will put that hat on his head if they take a picture with this care package. :-)

...and yes we continue to wait. One item that we are still waiting on is the legal documents from Korea. I am really hoping that we will receive them the first week in October. There is only one thing left that we need to do in the US and that involves his legals. So hopefully we will see them in less than a month.

We know people are interested in Baby Parker's name once he comes to America. We have it narrowed it down to two. Don't worry we won't keep you hanging too much longer. The names that our family and friends love are: Optimus Prime from my dad, Li'l Al from my sister Alison, and our neighbor always asks me about Cory, LOL!

We hope you are enjoying some beautiful fall weather in your neck of the woods. It's cooled down here, now if we could just get some rain!