Mood:  happy

Have been wonderful. Toby and I are really connecting. Though he still isn't talking much (momma, Tay Tay, Drew, Dog etc.) he is definately communicating with me. I can say "Bath Time" and he runs for the bathroom. Or if I say "Let's brush our teeth" He takes off and gets on his stool. He knows what I am saying, for sure! It's amazing.

On Wednesday, my sister came home and we took Toby to the OARDC to the Arboretum. Here are some photos from that.

Then on Thursday, it was time to head down to West Virginia for my Grandmother's funeral. She passed away late Monday evening. While she was 82, and had been ill for some time, going down there just brings back so many wonderful childhood memories. Sadly, I don't travel down there enough, and my children will not be able to experience the wonderful things I did when I would visit my grandparents, but I promise to tell them all the wonderful stories. While my heart was saddened at the passing of Grandma Bonnie, I was overjoyed at the knowledge that she had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and that I will be with her again one day. And to know she is holding my heavenly babies is also a comfort!

Anyway, back to Toby, he did wonderful on the trip. He really enjoyed meeting all the family, he did pretty good in the car, considering he was strapped in for over 8 hours. He did get a little car sick once we were off the interstate and on the back country West Virginia roads, but who can blame him.

Nate and the kids come home hopefully tomorrow evening. I miss them terribly, and I am looking forward to seeing Toby and the kids connect on a deeper level over the next few weeks and months.

God is Good! 

Well, Nate took off today for North Carolina. The kids have been there since Saturday with Grandma and Grandpa, and all Nate's siblinsg and nieces and nephews! I have been in tears, because I miss Taylor and Drew, but I know it will be special time with Toby that I can never get back. I tried very hard to get the Social Worker to say we could go, but she insisted that we not go. I just think Toby would have loved the ocean!

Things have been going so well. Toby is sleeping well (12 hours last night, in his own bed), eating well (pretty much anything we put in front of him) loves to play and cuddle.

I just praise God for the answer to prayer. We have been asking you all to pray for Toby and the transition. I know you all have been praying, and God answered! He is doing so well. He is a neat freak, which is new for us, as Taylor and Drew are not at all like that! He wipes up the table when he is done eating. It's just so funny. He doesn't like things left out! He LOVES to brush his teeth, and has fun in the bathtub splashing in the water.

We've had a few visitors, and he's done very well. He likes to wave at them from a distance, but clings to mommy mostly. He's a lot easier going with the guys than the ladies, that's for sure. A friend from church stopped this morning and he went right to him and hugged him, but then he wanted mommy, too!

I have lots of pictures, but haven't downloaded them. Maybe next time I'll have a few more for ya!

God is good! 

It's hard to believe that two days have gone by! Toby is a blessing in our home beyond words! Taylor and Drew love him to pieces! Here are a few photos from our first two days. The kids dressed him on Friday. He's wearing his Toby Mac shirt! Kinda cute! He's a rocker already!

Toby loves his sissy, and we have found he loves to play with people's hair. Here he is brushing Taylor's hair.

He also likes bags! Here is our "bag boy"

Taylor and Drew left on Friday at noon for vacation. It was hard to say good bye, but I know they are having fun. Here is Toby taking his first nap in his bed.

Here he is getting his first bath! He did well, and really enjoyed it!

Getting a bedtime story from mommy! I try to read to him a lot to build his vocabulary

The piano is a fan of many kids, here he is pounding out a tune!

Today we spent some time outside between the rain showers. He loved the Cozy Coupe.

He also wanted to help daddy mow... or was he taking his teddy for a stroll? (This is the Teddy we sent for his birthday in April! It looks well loved!)

Tonight, he got to wear his Superman pajama's, the same ones his big sister and brother wore!

And lastly, he fell asleep cuddled up to the kitty. I can't believe that our cat is as big as our two year old!! A big cat and a little boy!

Toby is doing wonderfully. He has moments, where he doesn't want us around. He's also woke up from naps in a fearful fit. He is settling in though, playing and getting the lay of the land. He's a blessing, no doubt! He is a big boy and likes to brush his teeth, he's a neat freak that puts his things away, including dirty clothes in the hamper and wiping the table when he is done eating. He likes to blow kisses, and he started bowing to us today, as is custom in Korea. It's really cute. I could go on, but I'm sure you're amazed already at how much I can talk about someone I've only known for two days!

God is good! 

Okay, so I posted earlier with the brief overview, so if you aren't into details, check out the previous post!

So we left the hotel for the airport at 4:30 AM. We had checked the status of Toby's flight, and he was in the air!

We got to the airport, and through security, and at our gate with an hour to spare! Everything went smoothly! Our flight to Chicago was a little bumpy, and we had to circle the airport for about 20 minutes because of storms. Once on the ground, we were off! We met up with Katy and got some breakfast at McDonalds. Then we headed off to the international terminal. It was only about 8:30 AM, still several hours until Toby's arrival.

We met with the lady that would be helping the babies and escorts through customs and immigration. She said that they would be landing soon, and it would be another 45 minutes to hour and a half til they came through the "A" arrival gates. We watched the monitors, and found that his plane had landed at around 10:50 and we began to wait by the doors.

Once he was through, he was waiving, and came right to us. After a while of holding him, and cuddling him, we had to get down to business. We spoke with his escort about his medications

We spoke with the director of Family Adoption Consultants for a few moments.

We got a picture with his Escort!

Then we went off to spend some quiet time with him. We ran around, played peek-a-boo, played in the drinking fountain, etc.

We then had to take the train to our terminal. Toby loved the train. It was really exciting!

We got to the terminal, and I got him changed, into his Ohio State clothes and a fresh diaper. He didn't like that much, but was fine once it was over. I tried to give him a bottle, he took a little of it.

Then we waitied for our return flight home. Once on the plane, Toby started SCREAMING!! I thought we were in for a long flight. Turns out, he was ready to crash, and HE WANTED DADDY! Nate took him in his arms, Toby laid his head on his shoulder, and he was out! It was precious. He slept the entire flight. Any time I tried to take him to give Nate a rest, he let out a scream that I'm sure woke the entire flight. It was special for daddy, I think!

Once in Cleveland, Taylor, Drew, my parents, and Nate's parents were waiting for us! It was nice to see the kids.  

We loaded up in the car to ride to our car, which was still at the Hotel in Strongsville. Toby did okay with the car seat, seeing as he hadn't been in one before. We got to the car, went to grab some grub at Wendy's and got home around 9:30. Once we were home, we opened his gifts from his Foster Mother. She sent his Hanbok (Authentic Korean Outfit he wore on his 1st Birthday) some clothes, a letter, a necklace engraved with his name and birthday, lots of pictures, a picture frame, a bag, some socks and squeeky shoes!

Once we were done, I tried another bottle. After about 15 minutes of crying, he settled down, and I carried him to our bed, turned out the lights and he was asleep in no time. He reached over and laid his hand on me, and was fast asleep by 10:30. He was restless a little through the night, but didn't really wake until about 5:30. At around 6:30, we got up and had breakfast. Which for him was yogurt and a bottle!

He attached to the kids pretty quickly. He keeps waving good bye to me. I think he wants to leave. I don't blame him. I can't imagine what is going through his head. All I can do is keep loving on him, and letting him know I'm not going anywhere!

More updates later! I'm working on posting all the pictures on a Photobucket account and will post that link once I'm done!

God is Good! I am in love with my boy! (and I  think he likes me, too) 

What an amazing day! I'll write more later, but wanted to get a photo out and a quick update...

Toby arrived at around 10:50 Central time. We got our first look a little before noon, I believe. This photo is him coming through the customs door (in stroller on left). He came right to us, and just wrapped his arms around us. We went to a quiet part of the airport, and played and let him run around for a while. Then we got on the train to go to our terminal. He liked that! We got on our plane for Cleveland, and he slept in daddy's arms the entire time. He would NOT let mommy hold him.

We got to Cleveland where Taylor and Drew waited, along with the grandparents. We arrived home around 9:30 or so. The kids played, he got his pajamas on, opened his gifts from his Foster Mother, and we went to bed at 10:30. I turned the lights out, and he slept for the most part, until 5:30. We got up, had some breakfast (bottle and yogurt) and have been going strong since.

Taylor and Drew leave for vacation around noon today, so I will post more details later. It was a wonderful day. And our prayers have been answered! God is SOOO GOOD! I will post more pictures later as well!

Well, It's about 4 in the morning, and I think I slept about 3 hours last night. I finally laid down at about 11:30 and felt tired, so I slept, but I was up at 1:30 and couldn't sleep, so I tracked Toby's flight! He was in the air!! Then I didn't fall asleep again until about 2:30 or so, and was back up at around 3:15. So I'm pretty much ready to head to the airport... and Nate's still asleep!!! I know, no big surprise!! We want to leave at 4:30, so I'm guessing he'll get up in about 10 minutes or so.

I'm really not sure why I couldn't sleep last night. I wasn't worried, or afraid, or anything like that. I kept praying over and over, for God to provide me the rest I would need to make it through this wonderful day. I head out, with the assurance, that in some way, He has provided the rest I will need! I know He has provided me with lots of adrenaline, because I feel like I could run a marathon right now (I know, never going to happen, but that's how I feel!)

Well, not sure when I will be on again. If I can, I may post from the airport as we await the arrival! According to the tracking websites (yes, I check them all!) his flight is currently running about a half hour early!!

God is Good! 

We can now start counting the hours. As of now, it's about 11 hours until Toby gets on his plane in Seoul. I figured, with all the time differences, etc. he will be leaving Seoul at 11PM our time (Noon on Thursday in Seoul), and will arrive in Chicago at Noon Eastern Time (that's 1AM Korean time!) on the Thursday. I had to practically draw a map to figure it all out!

As I woke up this morning, I was thinking of his foster mom. I'm not positive if he stayed with her his last night, but if he did, as I was waking, she would have been putting him to bed for the last time. It must be a terribly difficult day for her! I'm sure she hasn't slept much, either!

If you are interested in tracking his flight, he is flying Korean Air and it's flight 37. Here is a website you can track it on  http://www.flightview.com/TravelTools/default.asp . I'm sure I'll be up all night checking the progress!

Our return flight from Chicago is United Flight 1146 leaving at 3:45 and you can track that there as well.

Not sure how quickly I'll get back on to post. If I can get service at the airport, I may post while we are waiting, otherwise, it may be a day or two, depending on how much sleep we all get! But trust me, I will post pictures as soon as I can!!

Please continue to pray for safety, health and a smooth transition for Toby. 

God is Good!

That's TWO!!! Today, not much happening. I babysit a 10 month old on Tuesdays, so I knew I wouldn't be able to get much done today.

I did watch the video again last night. It's amazing how different it was, watching it, knowing I would be seeing him in a few short days! Everything is ready, we just need a little boy home! I still have lots of mental "lists" of things to do, but at this point, the important stuff is done and ready! 

Nate was teasing me, because I was setting out my "meet Toby" clothes, and he was commenting on which T-shirt he would pull out! Guys and Girls are just so different!

I will post flight details and tracking information tomorrow, if anyone is interested!

God is Good! 

Now I can say that, more than 2 but less than 5 right? A Few! THREE DAYS!!

Today, I got everything packed... I have so many piles around our bedroom, it's kinda insane!! Hopefullly, we can enjoy our evening with Taylor and Drew tomorrow. Of course, Taylor has soccer from 6 to 8, but maybe we can hang out and watch a movie after.

I'm going to take time to watch Toby's movie again tonight. I haven't watched it in a while, but I really want to see it right now. My handsome little boy! I can't wait to see his mischievious smile in person! 

Three Days away!!!

God is Good 

Today is Nate's moms birthday, so we spent most of the afternoon over there with family, but I still have a lot of packing to do!

Lots of people at church were asking lots of questions. I think everyone is getting excited about what God is doing! Toby is a blessing to MANY, not just here at the Mills' house! So many people have been praying for him for so long, even before we had a picture or knew a name.

As the time draws near, I think I'm beginning to wonder how this all came about. It seems like we have been waiting forever, and it just can't "really" be just around the corner! Our God, who knows our hearts desires, has been orchestrating this for as long as I've been alive. Even before! What we as a family are about to experience, is what God has always been preparing. It is amazing to think. As in everything, there will be ups and downs, times of heartache and times of joy! But I know it is all part of God's plan, and it has to be awesome!!

God is Good!