Introducing Jake!

Hello, everyone! We are thrilled to announce a soon-to-be addition to our family. Byeol Jang was born on August 17th, 2007, in Seoul, Korea. He was 7 lbs at birth and 19 inches long.

We completed our homestudy this week. It will take a while for fingerprinting, US and Korean Visas, etc. Jake should be joining our family sometime in August, if all runs smoothly. Dillon Southwest has been amazing with our last two adoptions, so we anticipate another wonderful experience.

For those of you doing the math, you are right: there are only six months between Sarah and Jake. To be honest, we never imagined that we would be fortunate enough to be matched with Sarah, let alone ANOTHER child. During the last week of March, we received an e-mail from our agency with Jake's photo asking for help in finding a family for him. We were not finalized with Sarah, and I had already reached the age limit with regards to Korea's requirements, but I made the call that same day to see if there was any possibility that we could welcome him into our home. Six or seven weeks later, we finally got the answer we were waiting for. We'll keep you posted as we find out more and we will update as we travel to escort Jake when it is time. Until then, enjoy the pics. They only go to 5 months. Should we receive new photos before we travel, we will post those as well. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Sean!

Hello, everyone! Sean turned two on the 15th of May. We had a party for him a few weeks ago. Thanks to all who helped us celebrate! Enjoy the pics!

Lexington,Ky:Day 3

ONE sunny day!
Time to swim!
My girl.
Watch me twirl!


Hello, everyone! Happy Mother's Day! Yes, I am posting this the day after while Leah sleeps. Her allergies are worse today and I am looking forward to getting her back to AZ where she can breathe again.





We had a wonderful Mother's Day, including a brunch at Joseph-Beth's Cafe. Here's a clip of Leah while we waited for our meal:

We enjoyed shopping at this amazing bookstore. Lots of Kentucky goodies to choose from and a children's section to get lost in. Afterwards, we returned to the hotel for swimming and a break. Oh, and I can't forget the umbrella that made Leah scream. While running across a parking lot in the storm, the umbrella inverted and scared Leah. She screamed so loud that I thought she had been injured. Needless to say, she now has her own umbrella. We haven't seen rain like this in a while. I guess it's because we stay out of the monsoons at home, yet the storms here look so, well, peaceful, as compared to a dust storm.

The pool is surrounded by glass, which made it kinda cool with the rain. Leah taught me all kinds of tricks. She is getting to be a good swimmer. I'll add some pics. Enjoy!

Lexington Trip:Day 2

The TWO graduates. Danny graduates on the 1st of June!
What a good looking group!
Dr. Ziemba. That's M.D. and Ph.D., in case you were wondering.

Kris with Rob and Danny. We are SO proud of you, Kris!
(Leah had to get in on one...she was so excited to tell everyone that Kris was HER graduate!!)

Wow, what a beautiful day to graduate from Medical School! No rain in sight and a cool, green sunny day to enjoy. Leah is allergic to Kentucky, as we found out about three am. She woke up with one of the worst allergy attacks that I have seen in a while. Amazing, though, how brave she was when it came to attending the graduation. She couldn't eat anything at the restaurant beforehand (not even Ravioli!), and was sick immediately following our arrival back at the hotel. However, she LOVED the ceremony and waited patiently for Kris's name to be called. Of course, with 99 graduates and Kris Ziemba being the last to walk across the stage, this was an impressive act of endurance by my 6 year old. I hope this video works. If you listen close, you will hear Kris's name (Dr. Ziemba, of course) and Gilbert, AZ. We are SO proud!! Here's the clip:

I am placing additional pics of Kris and the family/friends in attendance. I'll allow for their privacy by not labeling. Well, except for Rob and Danny. Danny graduates this year as well. Yes, he's the handsome one. Thanks for the Salmon dinner, chef Rob! It was fabulous. We enjoyed meeting everyone. Leah loved the attention and also enjoyed meeting Dante, the family dog.

Enjoy, everyone. More in the next blog.

Trip to Lexington, KY:Day 1

Hello, everyone! Leah and I left for Lexington on Friday the 9th and will return on the 12th. We're traveling to Lexington to attend Kris Ziemba's graduation from UK's medical school. Congratulations, Kris!!

Daniel is taking off all 4 days to spend time with Sean and Sarah. He took us to the airport on Friday. Sarah enjoyed her first Starbucks drink (Strawberries and Cream), while Sean played with the cool airplane one of the folks at Delta gave him.

The flight was amazing. No, really. Delta has those "choose your own adventure" monitors on the back of each seat. We never cracked a book or brought out an i-pod. LOVED Juno while Leah very much enjoyed Enchanted.

Lexington was a bit rainy when we arrived. Still light out at 8:30pm, we were able to see a few of the beautiful horse farms on the way to the hotel. Leah was excited to get to the hotel. We enjoyed a pizza and coloring session together before lights out. More in the next post!