I know it's been quite some time since I last posted. Life has been, well, life – exceptionally busy and hard to keep up with at times. In the last 10ish months, Jhon Paul has continued to be homeschooled which has come with its challenges and rewards. Lately, we've really been enjoying some new curriculum covering Earth Science! Another little-kno...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! Wow – I can't believe an entire month has gone by since my last post. I had hoped to post an update about a week or two after we returned home, but obviously I got a bit delayed. Sorry! What an amazing month it has been for us. Yesterday marked 1-month as a family united. While JP has been our son since we were matched, it ...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! Ben and I have officially made it through 10 full days of quarantine. We have been working remotely throughout the days to make the time go faster and to put us in a better place to spend time with JP when we arrive back in the USA. It has felt long and short all at the same time. This past weekend we were even able to...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! We are officially safe and sound in our hotel room in Manila. We certainly had a big sigh of relief as we entered our hotel room two nights ago. We feel so blessed to be here ahead of our previous schedule. Immigration into the Philippines at the airport was quite smooth. While there were many steps to go through at the air...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! Greetings from Tokyo! Yes, you read that correctly…we're officially on our way to the Philippines!!! I am writing this blog post while we await our connection to Manila in Tokyo (Narita International) during our 4-hour layover. What a difference a few short weeks can make in the adoption journey. Let me back up and share th...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! I wish I could greet you from Manila, Philippines today…or at the very least, from my airplane seat. But unfortunately, that was not God's plan for us. The last two weeks have continued to bring change and uncertainty to our travel plans. To keep it short, restrictions into the Philippines have continued to evolve and we no...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! The past two weeks have been a bit of a rollercoaster for us! Let me bring you up to speed. Shortly after my last post two weeks ago, we were informed we would actually need 2 additional travel approvals (bringing us to a total of 3 travel approvals from the Philippines). The second approval came late last week on Friday ev...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! We have more exciting news today! Just this week we received our first travel approval! We are so very excited to know we officially have everything in line with JP's paperwork that we are ready to travel. If you are keeping track, that means #1 and #2 in my last update are done! However, as I mentioned in the last update, ...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! What an amazing two weeks we have had in our adoption journey! I have so many updates that this momma's heart is about to explode! For anyone who has been praying over our adoption in the last few weeks – a great big THANKS! God has heard all those prayers and He has come through – in ways that only He can. Last post, we re...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! It is hard to believe we are nearing the end of March and spring has arrived. Yet another 3 weeks full of projects has gone by. I like to joke with Ben that I have just been doing the normal "nesting" routine of a soon-to-be-momma. My nesting just includes some pretty big ambitions for house projects. We have been wrapping ...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! Phew – what a whirlwind 2021 is already turning into! This week marks my 30th birthday – yikes! I couldn't be more thankful for the best birthday gift this year – getting prepared for our son to come home, with a loving husband and supportive family and friends. I am truly blessed! As if that weren't enough, we were blessed...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! In my last blog, I mentioned I would be posting about all the changes we have been making around the house. However, God has placed on my heart to something a bit different this time. In the month of love (Valentine's Day), I am so deeply reminded of our Father's love for us and want to share it with others. Since we offici...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! In case you missed it in the busyness of the holidays, we announced last month we've accepted a match for an 8-year old boy, "JP" (not his real name). Check out that blog if you have not already. The #1 question we have received from friends and family at this stage: when will JP come home? And that is a great question! As ...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! It's happened – we got "the call!" God has given us our very own Christmas miracle. We couldn't be more excited to announce that we have officially accepted a match. We've been told by our adoption agency this is one of their fastest matches. Their normal process takes about 2-3 years to match a family and we received our m...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! The holiday season is upon us. In just a few short weeks, we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving and then hopping right into Christmas festivities. While many people's holiday seasons will look quite different this year, Ben and I are blessed to still be able to see our immediate families quite a bit this holiday season (while p...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! Last month, we asked for prayers for a quick decision by the deciding committee on the sibling set we submitted our family for consideration. During our initial waiting, I felt God telling me that we would hear by the end of September. And hear we did. Shortly after I posted the last blog, God answered our prayers (and your...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! I hope this update finds everyone reading it well and enjoying the start of fall! Here in Lee's Summit, Missouri, we've had some beautiful weather to kick off fall. Praise God! Last week, Ben and I were even able to take a Friday afternoon off to treat ourselves to a lunch date and afternoon at the park. It was a wonderful ...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! This month we celebrated Ben's 29th birthday! We were able to see his family and celebrate the week with some yummy food, fun games, and even delicious ice cream cake (Ben's favorite). We also had my sister, Destinee, up for a few days before she started school back up (via online classes). Today I am enjoying some beautifu...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! What an amazing month July has been! For those of you who don't know (or don't remember 😊), July is our wedding anniversary. This year marked 6 years. It's hard to believe it's been that long. The time sure does go fast! We spent our anniversary weekend taking some time off work and just enjoying each other's company and so...
Mabuhay (welcome/hello)! Wow, June has flown! I'm not sure if you feel the same way, but things seem to be getting back to busy. Now that quarantines have lifted in our area, we decided to travel to see family the previous two weekends in June. While we're still being careful how much we expose ourselves to the general public, we thought it was abo...
