Wednesday, August 26, 2009

We made it home...

last Wednesday night. My family and our good friend Paul and his daughter Katie were waiting at the airport for us. It was so nice to see all of them. I started to cry as we came down the escalator and saw their faces. It felt so good to be home and have them meet our new baby boy.

We have been trying to get settled in and unpacked. Our house is still a mess but I get a little done each day. Ron's mom is here visiting and she has been helping us out. Ron had to go back to work today and I was sad. I liked him being at home with us. Sydny went back to school on Monday and is having a great time seeing her friends.

I want to say thank you to my good friend Melanie who made us dinner and brought it over on Sunday. It was so yummy! And also to Paul who had welcome home signs and real milk and chocolate donuts for us in our house when we came home. You guys are the best!

Landon's cough has returned unfortunately. We took him to the doctor yesterday and he had a TB test, chest x-ray, blood work and a breathing treatment. The doctor said he is wheezing and might have bronchitis or maybe whooping cough. We will know more when we get the tests back. We have him on breathing treatments at home now 4 times a day along with some other medication. I am thankful we have a doctor who is taking action.

When we left the Marshall Islands last Wednesday, our lawyer, our coordinator, the family that wasn't leaving yet and Kiomi and Phillipo all came to the airport to say goodbye. It was nice to have all of them there. The airport is so small and so HOT and humid. It was a three hour ordeal but we made it through. We had a fun day in Hawaii and went to Waikiki beach and Sydny got to swim. We also went to CPK and ate wonderful food! We didn't take any pictures while in Hawaii but it was so pretty there.

I am going to go squeeze Landon now and give him lots of kisses.
Kim

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Ron's Song

Kim's song is "I'm leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again." I have heard her sing that line a million times in the past two days. My song has been "Stars and Stripes" by Aaron Tippin. If you have a minute, do an online search for the lyrics to that song. Better yet, download it to your computer. It is a great song by a proud, unapologetic American. I have been singing it in my head this entire trip. I can only imagine that he must have been in a similar situation when he wrote the song, stuck somewhere for longer than he wanted to be, homesick, and ready to get home. I feel like I could have written the song myself any day these last couple weeks. See you soon.

Ron

We ARE leaving on a jet plane....

and we don't know when we will be back again. We are leaving tonight and will be home Thursday evening. We picked up our documents last night and we are elated!!!! See you soon.

Kim

Monday, August 17, 2009

I think we are leaving on a jet plane...

Our documents left Manila on Friday, traveled to Hong Kong, Seoul and then Guam. They left Guam Monday morning and we pray they arrived on last night's flight. If they did we can catch our flight out tomorrow (Wednesday) and then we will stay in Honolulu for one night and be home Thursday evening. If they didn't we will have to try and catch the Friday evening flight if they have seats available.

We are elated that we will be coming home soon!

Kim

Friday, August 14, 2009

Picture of the termites

Five weeks and still counting...

We were told that our documents may have gone out last night (Friday) but may not go out until Monday. If they went out last night, it is very possible we will catch the Wedensday flight home. If they go out Monday, it is possible to catch the Friday flight home but could be the following Monday flight. We are so frustrated and homesick. I so look forward to sleeping in my own bed and taking a bath in my own tub! I also look forward to not eating out every single day and also eating different foods.

Other than being homesick, all is well here. Kiomi invited us to the beach with her family on Thursday. Sydny and Ron went swimming and Sydny had fun. It was a little uncomfortable because no one really talked to us. Sydny didn't get a nap that day so she was a bear by 4:00 so we had to leave early.

Landon is getting cuter and chunkier by the day. He is a little butterball turkey and we love him so much. Sydny has been telling us every day that she loves us from her heart (at least 50 times a day)and she melts my heart every time she says it. She can be such a sweet loving little girl. I honestly think she is going to be sad when we have to go home. It will take her some time to adjust to our routine upon returning home.

The two other families are still here also. The Embassy in Manila is processing all our documents at the same time and we think that is part of the reason it is taking so long. The family that is renting the house invited us and the other family over for this coming Sunday for a home cooked meal...so exciting! Sydny will be happy because she can play with their kids. All three families will leave at the same time so we will all be on the same flight out of Majuro.

Hopefully I will be posting good news on Monday that we are leaving Wednesday...

Kim

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Pictures of Kiomi's house & family





We are still here...

We were supposed to leave tonight (Wednesday) but we were told on Monday that our documents hadn't left Manila yet. We had our travel agent book us for the flight out this coming Monday knowing that we may not have our documents yet. We will just have to change the flight again if they are not here by Monday. Our travel agent could not find an available flight for us out of Honolulu for next week but said he would let us know tomorrow if he was able to come up with something. I can't imagine leaving here and then having to stay in Honolulu for a week. Even though it is a nice place to be, we are ready to be home.

We went to the grocery store on Monday and bought groceries for Kiomi and family. We took them over Monday evening. The children were so happy to see us and they loved having their picture taken. I will try to post pictures tomorrow when I have more patience waiting on them to download.

We had to move rooms last night. We were up until midnight moving all of our stuff. We brought nine pieces of luggage if that gives you any idea on how much stuff we had to move. There is a picture in our room and as we were leaving for dinner I saw something in it. I went over to it and saw what I thought were maggots all in the picture. Ron went and looked and they were termites. So we packed up and moved rooms.

Not much else to write about. I have tried to email some of you but for some reason my emails are getting stuck in my draft folder. Please don't think I am ignoring you guys.

I am outside at the hotel restaurant posting and a little girl came up to me and told me she was hungry. I am ordering her some food and waiting on it with her. Her name is Meggie.

Bye for now,
Kim

Friday, August 7, 2009

Why did the pigs cross the road...



There are pigs, chickens and dogs running around on the island. On our way back from Laura Beach, we almost ran over a baby pig that was crossing the road. He was really cute. We also had to stop the car while a mother and her piglets crossed the road. Luckily Ron got a picture of them. I wish I could take them all home.

We went to a restaurant the other day that we hadn't been to. I ordered noodles and when they brought it out it had squid all over it. Yuck! I had no idea I had ordered that. Also, when we were leaving the people that work there started eating our leftovers. We had been told this was a normal thing to happen. There was a fly flying around our table in the restaurant and the waitress stood there for a few minutes with a fly swater trying to kill it. One of the waitresses also held Landon the entire time so that we could eat. Needless to say, it was a very interesting dining experience.

Landon has grown so much since we have been here. He is quite the chunky boy. His cough is almost completely gone and we are so thankful. Everyone is healthy!!!!

We still don't know if we are coming home on Wednesday yet. Ron tried to call the Embassy in Manila yesterday and got a recording to call back later. We are so frustrated with the lack of information we are getting regarding our documents.

I also want to say happy birthday to my dad and my Aunt Charlene. It stinks that my dad is in the hospital on his birthday. Aunt Charlene, I hope you have a fantastic day tomorrow!

That is all for now.
Kim

p.s. Legal Notice: This was a post from Saturday (Friday in the States) that we couldn't post until Sunday (Saturday in the States) due to problems with the blog....

Pictures from Laura Beach



Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Pictures



No luck...

Looks like we are not leaving tomorrow as planned. Supposedly our documents were coming in last night but they didn't. We are told that they will most likely come Friday night. We are still trying to get a tracking number so that we can track the documents ourself. We are changing our flight to leave on Wednesday and pray that we don't have to change it again. We are calling our travel agent so he can make the change and hopefully we will not have to pay the change fee. Sometimes they make you and sometimes they don't. Since we are adopting, the might be more inclined not to charge us.

We went to dinner with our friends last night and learned this morning that they have strep throat. YIKES! Can you imagine both parents having strep and trying to take care of three kids... I sure hope our family does not get sick anymore. I feel for them.

To kill some time, we are going to drive about an hour and go to Laura Beach and let Sydny swim. She is thrilled! She is a little fish.

Just a side note, my dad had surgery this morning and I talked to my mom briefly and she said he is doing fine. Please keep him in your prayers as he recovers. He will be in the hospital for 5 to 7 days.

Adios for now,
Kim

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Pictures from the party



Wednesday

We called the Embassy again this morning and they still had no news for us. We have not changed our flight yet and we are hoping the Embassy will have info this afternoon. We did go to the Continental offices this morning to see if the flight on Wednesday is still open in case we can't make the one Friday and it is. Our biggest fear is that the flights were going to fill up next week (there are only three a week)and we would have to stay longer than necessary. We are so excited about getting to come home and we are still holding out a little bit of hope for Friday.

On Sunday Sydny went swimming in the pool with her friends here and had a good time. We went to the birthday party Sunday night and played games and ate lots of good food. It was the first time since we have been here that I wasn't thinking about being here if that makes sense. We didn't see Kiomi Sunday or Monday but she came over yesterday with her friend and they hung out a little bit.

Ron and I are all well now and Sydny is doing lots better. She still runs a fever every now and then and I am not sure why. I think if we lived here we would be sick all of the time. Our lawyer brought a doctor friend of his by our hotel room on Monday to check Landon out. She said his lungs sound good and that he looks very healthy. She did put him on some more medication to help with the cough. It seems to be a little better but until that darn cough is gone or until we find out what is causing it, I will not be happy.

Sydny has been very sweet to Landon. She likes to touch him gently as she says. Dee Dee is still hanging out with us and now CoCo hangs out with us too on occasion. I guess when you have just your parents hanging out with you most of the time, you have to make up friends to play with. She has such an imagination.

That is all for now. Hopefull next time I post I will have info on when we will be leaving the Island!

Kim

Friday, July 31, 2009

Saturday

We have a car and it is much nicer than the last one. Ron rented it for an entire week and I am so excited. We will be able to do a lot of things and most importantly go grocery and clothes shopping for Kiomi and family. I want to say thank you to Aunt Mandy and my parents for their generosity. I love you guys and the money will mean more than you know to Kiomi.

Kiomi, Phillipo and her niece are all in the room sleeping. I thought I would sneak out and update the blog. I was getting cabin fever.

It has been raining every day and it looks like we might be off water restrictions. The water has been on all day today. Praise the Lord.

I think we are going to try and go to church in the morning. They have a big fishing tournament here today and tomorrow and we are going to try and watch them bringing in the fish. Sydny would love to see that! We also have a birthday party to go to tomorrow (it was cancelled last Sunday)and Sydny will also enjoy being around other children.

Ms. Solis, Sydny has talked about her classmates and she wants to bring them some sea shells we found on the beach. I know she misses her friends. She also has a new friend named Dee Dee. She is the same age as Sydny and she goes with us everywhere...and yes she is make believe. It is the cutest thing listening to her talk to Dee Dee. One of her favorite things to do is to go down to the beach and push her on the swing.

I know my posts are boring but there is not a lot of excitement happening. I will try to post more tomorrow or Monday.

Kim

Friday Evening

Tomorrow Landon will be two months old and it also marks our three weeks here. Time is going by so fast and so slow all at the same time. Our flight is scheduled for next Friday on the 7th and hopefully on Monday we can find out if we will be able to keep our original flight or have to change it.

Kiomi showed up today and she and Phillipo took a long nap in our room. I am sure they enjoy the cool of the air conditioning and the softness of the bed. Poor Phillipo is covered from head to toe in insect bites. He has sores all over his body from scratching. If I had all the money in the world, I would rebuild this poor little island and give everyone a nice home to sleep in bug free along with plenty of food to eat.

Sydny has a fever again today. Ron and I have bad colds but no fever. Landon is STILL coughing. We talked to our lawyer last night and he is going to try to get us in to see a pediatrician...now I didn't even know one existed until last night. He has coughed up mucus three times. He coughs so hard you think he will cough his little lung out. Please continue to pray for him.

We are going to try again tomorrow to rent a car. It is very difficult trying to find a car to rent. We want to go back to Laura Beach and also do some shopping for Kiomi and her family.

That is all for now. I apologize if I have typos but I am tired.

Kim

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

got milk?

They don't here. At least not the kind of milk that we are used to. You know, cold, in a gallon jug, good ole' cow's milk. Here, milk is shelf stable and comes in a one liter box with a plastic flip open lid. It is not all milk or real milk but a milk product, a product of Australia, called "Paul's Milk". Scary. I finally found some different real milk that was twice the price, about $3.00/liter, in the same type box, and again, not refrigerated. I was so excited about the find that I bought four boxes at once. Turns out, it's not much better. In fact, Kim likes it less than Paul's Milk. I think she's just partial to the name. I chug down what I can each morning so that I get my vitamin D. The true milk expert is, of course, Sydny. She likes neither very much. Every time we make her daily chocolate milk, she complains that it doesn't taste very good. So, in addition to not eating very good, she's not even getting her daily dose of chocolate milk. Poor girl. She used to love chocolate milk. Baby brother has not been the only change in her life. Thank God for simple pleasures in life like fresh, cold cow's milk, maybe with a little Hershey's chocolate added in.

Pictures




The picture of the clinic is where we go to the doctor.

Wednesday

It is Wednesday here and we just finished up eating breakfast. Sydny has not been eating much since we have been here except for snacks. All we hear all day is how she wants something else meaning a snack. Child cannot live on snack alone. We went to the doctor yesterday because Sydny was still running a fever and he put her on antibiotics. The doctor also weighed Landon and he was 11lbs 3oz. two weeks ago and now he is 11lbs 15oz. He is almost a 12 pounder. I am glad he is gaining weight despite the bad cough. He said his lungs sound fine and that he must have a reactive airway... I will be at our doctor's doorstep the minute we get home.

Kiomi and her friend came by on Monday for a couple of hours and told us she was going to another island for a few days. She will be back on Friday. We are cherishing the time we get to spend with just us and Landon.

Those that know us well know we love Mexican food. On Friday nights at our hotel is fiesta night. I had a couple of tacos and they were yummy. Tuesday nights are pizza and pasta night and Wednesday afternoon is sushi...yuck. Ron will be eating sushi all by himself today.

Sydny continues to struggle with having a baby brother. Sometimes she can be so sweet and she brings him his blankie or pacifier. Every time I am holding Landon or trying to feed him she throws a fit and wants me to hold her. It is sad to see her get so upset. Needless to say, Ron and Landon are having a lot of bonding time.

The Embassy called us this morning to let us know our documents are in Manila where they will be processed. They are going to call us back with a tracking number at some point so we can track them coming back to us so that we will know when to book our flight home. That will be a glorious day.

By the way Samantha, we did bring roach and ant bait but I guess the ants don't mind it. :)

Bye for now,
Kim

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Pictures


Sunday

It is Sunday morning here. We had grand plans to go to church with one of the other families here and then go over to their rental house for lunch. Sydny woke up last night with a fever. We gave her some Motrin and it seemed to help. Ron and I both have congestion in our chests but I am feeling fine over all. Ron is not feeling so great. Landon is the same as usual. We decided to stay in today so that we don't get their kids sick. We also have a birthday party to go to later today but we will have to see how everyone is and play it by ear.

We haven't seen Kiomi in a couple of days. I have a feeling she will come today but do not know. Yesterday was uneventful. We stayed at the hotel all day because Sydny had green snot pouring out of her along with an earache. If she is not better today we are going to the doctor tomorrow for sure. Landon only has one more day of antibiotics and I am sure the doctor will put Sydny on them.

As I mentioned in a previous post, we have ants in our room. I am at breakfast by myself this morning and the little critters keep crawling on me. They must have been all over the computer when I brought it down to the restaurant. The other day we were eating lunch and I felt something crawling on my foot. I looked down and it was the biggest roach I had ever seen. It creeped me out so much. Now when we are eating at the restaurant, I keep my feet off of the ground.

We have been able to Skype my parents and Ron's mom almost everyday. We have a webcam so they are able to see us even though I know they want to see just Sydny and Landon. My mom told me yesterday that she was going to cook us a homemade dinner when we get back to the good ole U.S. of A. I am so looking forward to that meal.

I am rambling so I will close for now. I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

Kim

Friday, July 24, 2009

Landon's smile and our car....



Finally, we caught Landon's smile. Sure, he was sleeping (he smile's a lot in his sleep) but this is the first time we have been able to actually get a picture of his smile. He has a great smile and we cannot wait until he will look at us and smile. He does make a lot of facial expressions but no smiles yet.

The second pic shows our rental car in the background. Believe it or not, we had eight people, you read that right, eight people in that car when we went to dinner the other night. It was Kim and I, Sydny and Landon, Kiomi and her son Phillipo, and Kiomi's friend and her daughter. No one wears seat belts here and there are no child seats. Despite all these apparent dangers, we have not seen a wreck yet and the speed limit is 25 miles an hour most places and gets up to 40 miles an hour maximum in certain places. There are no traffic lights. We have turned in the yellow machine and hope to get a bigger, better, safer car next time we rent one for a few days.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Pictures


It is raining

and hopefully it will rain enough so that we will not have to be limited on our water during the day. Another good thing about the rain is that it really cools things down here. It is so hot and humid. Everything in our room feels wet to me.

Kiomi, Phillipo and their friend and her daughter spent most of the day with us yesterday. Our hotel room was very crowded and I asked the good Lord for patience on more than one occasion yesterday. I seem to get stressed out when there are a lot of people around me especially when we can not communicate well and there are kids running around like mad men.

We are going to call the Embassy today and start tracking our documents. We hope and pray and pray some more that we are here only four weeks. It is hard being away from the comfort of home for so long.

Sydny is feeling better today. Landon still has his cough but has not had a fever and is eating well. I am debating on whether we should take him to the hospital and get him checked out. He had three coughing spells last night. Please continue to pray for him.

I want to thank all of you guys for your posts. We always look forward to reading them. And yes Paul, I am taking daily showers.

Bye for now,
Kim

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

More pictures



I can only post a couple of pictures at a time because they take FOREVER to download.

Pictures


Not sure what day it is...

I can't seem to keep up with what day it is. They all just run together and when you have nowhere to be it really doesn't matter. We have spent the last couple of days just hanging out. We did rent a car yesterday and we will have to post pictures of it. It is mustard yellow and very small. It is an adventure in itself to ride in the car. I had some sort of stomach bug for about 24 hours so life was not so good for a little while. Sydny is now sick with a cold and Landon is still congested and coughing. I am sure Ron and I will get colds next.

Kiomi still comes by every day to see Landon. She stays with us 5 to 6 hours a day. We took her home last night in our yellow car so Ron got to see where she lives. I really would like to take pictures of the house but need to ask her if it is okay. She speaks a little English but not much. It is a challenge to comminicate with her so usually we do not speak which is uncomfortable.

Sydny is now having a hard time with everything. My sweet girl has turned into a little monster. I feel bad for her because she is away from home, her friends, her school, she is sick and has to share mommy and daddy. It is a challenge to say the least.

I will close now. Maybe I will have more exciting stuff to write about next time.
Kim

"Water, water everywhere....

...but not a drop to spare." That's right, we are on a very small island with thousands upon thousands of square miles of ocean surrounding us and we are under water rationing. Evidently, they are experiencing drought conditions in Majuro even though it rains at least some every day. The city has limited the hotel to one day a week for reservoir water, which is down from the normal level of 28 million to a current level of 8 million. Sounds serious. At least the hotel has the option of getting that city water once a week. All households on the island can only count on the rainwater they collect in a tank as runoff from their rain gutters. Seriously. When that runs out, you have no water. Here in the hotel, we get water from 6-9 in the morning and 6-8 in the evening. We have to plan around that. It is amazing what we take for granted. I cannot tell you how many times in two days that I have put soap on my hands and tried to turn on the water at the wrong time and all I got was a gurgling sound. Things could be worse I guess. All in all, we are doing great. Kim will update you on the current goings on soon but I had a couple of minutes and wanted to tell you all about our water situation. ron

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Sunday

Yesterday Kiomi and Phillipo came and hung out with us. Phillipo slept for four hours and three of the four were in Ron's arms. I don't think he got much sleep the night before. We had lunch and watched Shrek on the TV. It was a pretty low key day. This morning as we were finishing up breakfast, the waitress came to tell us Kiomi was waiting for us outside. Ron is outside now with them while phillipo and Sydny run around.

Yesterday was one week that we have been here. Hopefully we will get to leave in three more if we are lucky. Two of the families are leaving Monday so that will leave three families still here. We all had a little pizza party out by the water on Friday night and all of the kids had so much fun. It is so hot and humid during the day but it is really nice in the evening by the water.

Landon seems to be doing a little better. He coughed up some mucus yesterday so hopefully that is a good sign that he is getting that junk out of his lungs and chest. The coughing epsiodes are less frquent but they still scare me when he has one. I blow in his face (thank you Aunt Charlene) when he can't catch his breath and that seems to help.

I better go now and visit with Kiomi. I hope eveyone has a great weekend.

Kim

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Pictures


Landon did receive a haircut before we got here. They shaved the lower half of his head and left a little place in the back of his head for a "tail" to grow. Needless to say we will be letting his hair grow back in.

Pictures


Just Another Post

Yesterday we went over to another family's house who is here adopting also. We actually both had court on the same day and they have been a wonderful family to share our experience with. Kiomi was there too so she got to spend time with Landon. Sydny got to go swimming again in the ocean and had so much fun. I don't think Sydny is going to want to go home when it is time. She is going to be so brown by the time we leave because her skin just soaks up the sun. The water is so beautiful here. Parts of it are the prettiest aqua color. It is amazing something can be so beautiful.

Landon didn't cough as much last night so we were thankful for that. He seems a little more congested today though than he has been. The doctor here said he has bronchitis but Ron is going to talk to his good friend in a little while who is a doctor and hopefully he will be able to help us a little more.

I think today we are going to try to do some laundry and go to some handicraft stores to buy some keepsakes. I will post some pictures too.
Kim

Update on Landon

Just a short note...we went back to the doctor this afternoon and told the doctor that Landon's condition had not improved. The doctor prescribed him amoxicillin and ventolin. We immediately gave him a dose of the antibiotic but are checking with a doctor friend about the ventolin and whether or not it is safe to give him as prescribed and if the dosages are correct for each of the medicines. By the way, Landon is six weeks old and around eleven pounds, give or take a couple of ounces, in case anyone wants to check with a trusted doctor and get back with us on what the correct dose should be for each of these and if Ventolin should even be given to him. We are trying to get an answer as quick as possible so we can give him the drug if it will help. The doctor said we should notice an improvement in his cough within three days. Ron

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Pictures





Long post...

It is Thursday morning at 8:45 am. We have been so busy the last few days and have not had an opportunity to update the blog. We went to court on Monday and it went well. It was a very emotional day for us and I am relieved it is behind us now. It was a bittersweet day. After court we had to go get passport pictures of Landon, get him a passport, go to the doctor for his medical exam and get new birth certificates. We were running all over town. On Tuesday we went to our U.S. Embassy appointment and then sent everything out yesterday to get Landon's visa. The wait now begins.
Kiomi(Landon's birth mother) and her son Phillipo hung out with us for most of the day yesterday. I forgot to tell you all that we are in a hotel room. Our lawyer called us on Tuesday to tell us they had a room for us. Praise the Lord! We are in heaven now. We are sharing our room with the ants but other than that, we are very pleased. Anyway, we had a nice visit with her. After she went home, we took Sydny down to the little beach area at our hotel and she and Ron went swimming. We then went and had dinner with some other families that are here adopting. It is amazing how quickly you become close to these other families. It is comforting to have them here with us.
Landon is 11 lbs. 3 oz. now. He is doing well except for this HORRIBLE cough he has. He has these coughing attacks and coughs so hard that he can't catch his breath. It is so scary and we feel a little helpless. We told the doctor about it and he listened to his chest and said he was fine. We are going to go back to the doctor again today and have him listen again. Be thankful for the healthcare in the states because it is lacking here. There is not a 911 or anything like that here. I want so badly to be able to take him to our pediatrician at home. Please keep Landon in your prayers.
Sydny is still doing quite well with everything. She is having the time of her life playing with all of her new friends. Before we got Landon, I kept wondering if I would be able to love another child as much as I love Sydny and I will tell you that I can. I am so in love with both of our kids. Life really doesn't get much better than this.
We love and miss you guys,
Kim

Saturday, July 11, 2009

We are here!

We arrived yesterday at 10:00 am (we crossed the dateline so we are actually a day ahead of you all)and we are so glad the flying part of the trip is over for awhile. Sydny was wonderful on the plane and I am amazed at her ability to adapt to any situation. We met the birth mother and Landon yesterday. It was a very akward meeting but it went well. Landon is tiny! The pictures that we received are very misleading. He looks so big in those pictures to us but he is not. He is such a cutie. The birth mom brought her other son with her and he is one. We did find out that Landon and his brother Phillipo share the same father and mother. Phillipo was really cute. We will post pictures later but do not have time right now.

We are living in an apartment right now because the hotels are full. There is some sort of convention here. We hope to get into the hotel on Friday. We had to go buy sheets and pillows and towels. There is no hot water and I told Ron I wasn't going to take a shower in cold water so I guess I will be dirty for a week. The water is so beautiful here but there is a lot of poverty. We take so much for granted.

We went to a birthday party last night for one of the other adoptive families little girl. Sydny played in the water at the beach in all of her clothes. She had so much fun. We are going to a remote beach today with some other families and it is supposed to be very beautiful.

We go to court tomorrow morning and after that Landon will come live with us forever! It is still all so surreal.

I must go now because we have to go purchase a phone before we leave for the beach. We will try to post more later along with pictures.

Kim

Thursday, July 2, 2009

We Have A Court Date

We were called this morning and were told that our court date is July 13th....We have one million things to do before we travel! Looks like we will leave here on July 9th so that we can get to Majuro on Saturday to meet our baby boy before we go to court on Monday. Please keep us in your prayers for this will be a very stressful week.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Landon Loves To Eat!

We received more pictures of Landon and he is a very HEALTHY little boy. We are so happy and thankful that he seems to be getting fed so well. We also received our Petition for Adoption this morning and we will sign it and email it back to our coordinator. Hopefully the lawyer will be able to submit it to the judge today and then we will be notified of our court date.








Monday, June 29, 2009






We received pictures of Landon and his birth mother (Kiomi) on Saturday morning and we are thrilled. He looks very healthy and has lots of curly hair. We showed the pictures to Sydny and she didn't seem too thrilled. Some days she loves talking about baby brother and other days she says she doesn't want to be a big sister. I know the transition will be hard for her. We are still waiting to hear when we will travel.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Referral

We received our referral of our baby boy. Our coordinator called us at 9:00 pm and it is surreal that we have a son. His birth name is Kojirak Phillipo and we have decided to name him Landon Kojirak Jones. He was born on June 1st weighing 7lbs and was 19" long. He was born in Majuro, Marshall Islands.